Monsters Within Us
by UndyingRevenge
Summary: After Gold Morning Taylor finds herself lost in the forests of another world. It's just her luck that the first place she discovers just so happens to be the den of a certain fox. (Warring Clans Era)
1. Chapter 1: Prologue & Alien Philosopher

Prologue

 _It never ends does it?_

The forest must go on forever, Contessa must have thought it fitting to dump me into an empty world with no other intelligent life. Wallowing away the days by myself out of sheer spite to those that wished me dead.

"Well," I said to myself, "that might not be one hundred percent accurate." My passenger was still with me even though it had been sporadically coming and going. My insect control would be with me one day, with greater range than I had ever perceived before, then the next day I would wake to the relative silence of my normal senses and a feeling of dread would encompass me. Every time my control went away I felt as if I might slip back into the thought processes of kephri again, unable to think of anything besides that which dealt conflict. I reassure myself that I'm not relapsing by speaking out loud, something I hadn't been capable of as Kephri.

Ever since landing here in these forests I've become reliant on finding and hunting food through my powers. Over the years I'd come to take them for granted, but now that my passenger is taking vacation days I found myself contemplating the things most people take for granted. like having two arms or not having severe mental trauma.

Once I realized that my passenger would be going AWOL on a semi-regular basis I made sure to collect enough supplies for a few days of survival whenever possible. It's not an easy feat when all I have on me is the outfit I wore as Kephri. Its visage now completely unblemished by the fighting it has seen. I managed to make a passable backpack with animal skins and spider silks. It's surprising what one can do with one arm and an unending swarm of random spiders.

The first few days in these forests had me trying to get a lay of the land. My first attempt involved using my swarm's senses to observe the highest point of my reach. That got me a blurry image of an endless green forest stretching out in all directions, save one. In the far distance there is a smudge of grey sticking out of the horizon."

 _Looks like I'm going that way then._

After a day or so of travel toward the proposed mountain, my power shorts out again.

"Maybe if I'm lucky this world will have some nice, reasonable people and I can get a nice hot bath." I continue muttering to myself as I trek through the forests. "But knowing my luck I'll probably find that the whole planet is inhabited by endbringer equivalents or giant carnivorous leeches…although the latter might not be a problem if my powers don't decide to fuck off for the day again"

XxxxX A few hours later XxxxX

 _Ya know, when I was joking about the endbringer thing I didn't mean to taunt you, murphy._

 _Contessa what in the hell were you playing at. Sending me to a world inhabited by skyscraper sized monstrosities with nothing besides a half broken power?_

Late that morning I got a better picture of the creature, its size was enormous and it just heading in my direction, and the worst part was that it seems to be following me, every time I changed direction it would shift it's heading unerringly right toward me.

I almost sigh out loud.

 _This thing is definitely something I don't want to fight. Especially with how unreliable passenger is being._

The worst part was that despite how slowly it seem to be moving, it would probably still reach me before the end of the hour anyway with how huge it was. My only objective at this point was to reach the mountains id seen earlier.

 _Well better try something before it reaches me._

 _Maybe it will be allergic to ten thousand simultaneous bee stings. Id have to go for the eyes if it has any, that always seems to work… or maybe I can try talking to it._

The Endbringers from bet seemed much less murderous after everything that happened during gold morning.

 _Compared to Gold Morning and all the other shit Ive been through, this situation doesn't even rank within the top ten. Talking a monster out of murdering me should be easy comparatively._

I pause as I realize that my passenger had chosen that exact moment to black out once again leaving me to talk to said monstrosity in person instead of through a swarm clone like I had been planning to do…

"Well fuck you too, passenger".

XxxxX A few hours later XxxxX

Well the good news is that I'm not dead yet. The bad is that this creature is a no-show. It ought to have caught up to me even if it was crawling all the way to me. I wish my bugs could have gotten a better picture of what it looked like but it had been moving too fast.

Now I have something the size of a multi-story building nearby and I have no idea where it is or how something that large could possibly sneak up on me. The most unsettling thing is not knowing just what this creature was capable of. Having nothing better to do I suppose ill bed down under a tree again and see if I can't get to the mountain tomorrow.

Maybe then I'll be able to spot my pursuer, or if I'm lucky some kind of civilization somewhere nearby.

XxxxX The next day, base of mountain XxxxX

"Well that's a bit disheartening", I groan to myself while I look at the giant claw marks that racket the face of the mountain.

Apparently the creature must have lived here at some point, as there are old-looking claw marks pocketed all over and a massively large cave about three-fourths of the way to the summit. The entrance to which nearly encompasses 10% of the whole cliff-face. I have a feeling that no matter what I do I'm going to be facing this thing, I just wish my passenger would stop taking a break right now and fucking do something useful.

Frustration coming to a peak I exasperatedly start my long climb up the mountainside.

XxxxX same time, some distance away XxxxX

 ** _"_** **Well isn't that intriguing** ", a deep voice mutters to itself as it observes a one armed human shaped creature muttering to itself in a language never heard on the face of that world before.

 _ **This creature contains hatred within it, yet I cannot feel anything else**_. **_It smells of insects and vaguely of humans, but no charka at all…that should not be possible._** The colossal fox contemplates as it watches said woman-creature climb ever further into its territory.

 ** _Maybe today won't be so boring after all_** , Kurama though with a wide smirk.

Chapter 1

Alien Philosopher

"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher."

\- Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

I'd just reached the cave entrance when I notice something moving in the forests near the base of the mountain in the periphery of my vision.

 _Passenger, are you seeing what I'm seeing?_

My power actually flickers on for a moment at that thought, startling me almost as much as the realization of what had been following me on my way up the mountain.

A giant fox at least a hundred feet tall, casually steppes up the mountain like it was taking a stroll through a meadow instead of a mountainside with 45 degree incline. Its blood-red eyes were trained right on me and I could identify intelligence even at this distance.

Besides its overall vulpine form it did have some unique features, one of which being its almost human-like hands, multiple swaying tails, and its pitch black lip and ear colorations.

Even as it grew closer I didn't move, there wasn't anywhere I could go at this point besides the cave and given the telltale indents around the mountain this was probably its den.

As it grew closer to the cave its facial features became clearer, showing a strangely human like facade of blank disregard. That was both a good sign and a bad omen. This creature was too alive, too fluid in its movements, and strangely emotive even with its neutral gaze to be an endbringer. Normally that might be a good thing, however this also made me realize just how alien this creature was.

 _I wonder how something that large can even be alive, its bones would have to be stronger than steel. If this was a normal animal It would overheat, its organs would implode, and it would probably need to mainline butter just to get enough calories._

With that thought the great fox finally reaches the cave entrance and stops. It seems to contemplate something before a look of resignation falls onto its face. It proceeds to step straight over me, gouging deep furrows into the cave floors entrance.

 **"Hanashimashou"** , said the fox. And proceeds to walk into the massive cave.

Its voice was loud and the proximity to the cave gave a reverb to the words that gave an ominous quality to its tenor.

Its ability to speak surprises me, but what surprises me more was its capability to form human speech perfectly even with its inhuman facial features.

 _Am I really going to follow that thing right into its den? It could probably kill me without any real effort. Yet here I am. About to walk right into possible danger and death. Why can't I just rest. Just stop throwing myself into situations like this._

Yet still I walked forward. There must have been something wrong with me.

XxxxX XxxxX

The Inside of the fox's den was not what I had originally imagined it might be, instead of a bland grey hole in the wall there was instead a breathtaking visage of serenity. Most of the walls seemed to gleam with unnatural, crystalline stalagmites and stalactites. The farthest point in the room sported what seemed to be a straight hole. Its edges looked almost melted, as if someone had fired an anti-endbringer laser straight into the ceiling merely to add a small amount of light to the otherwise dim room. At the center sat the fox in all its immensity, back to the light and face shadowed. The fox merely stared at me before gesturing with its hand like claws for me to approach.

Struggling not to hesitate, I moved to stand before the massive creature, keeping eye contact all the while. Even to something like this creature I refuse to show even the smallest amount of trepidation, I had faced gods and won after all. An overgrown fox just didn't compare to that, powers or no. That doesn't mean that i'm not still a little intimidated by its sheer size.

Standing a comfortable distance away (and hopefully out of its reach) I began my introductions.

"Hello, my name is Skitter" I couldn't help but feel a bit ridiculous as I point to myself and then gesture toward the fox as if to say 'your turn'.

 **"…Kyuubi,** " the fox finally intones after a short pause. It said nothing more, and made no indication that it was going to continue talking.

"Well Kyuubi, I don't suppose you understand anything I'm saying do you?"

The fox merely stared harder

"All right well how abo-" I began before a massive claw dartes out and seizes me. I had been standing outside of its reach but the fox was blindingly fast, I didn't really stand a chance of dodging.

I could barely breathe in its grip yet I wasn't being crushed, the fox pauses for a moment before it starts muttering to itself. I thought I might have caught the word 'ninshu', but its ramblings seem more grumbling than any discernible language. Once I realize how thoroughly trapped I was my passenger tries waking up but it just kept stuttering, flickering perceptions of the bugs around the mountain appearing and disappearing. A migraine quickly built behind my eyes, spotting my vision.

Finally, the fox stops its muttering and closes its eyes. Before I could understand what was happening a sudden feeling of vertigo smashes through me and I found myself falling through space, surrounded on all sides by endless stars and the telltale streaks of colorful light indicating distant galaxies far far away.

The image was surreal, almost ethereal in its beauty. No earthy telescope could ever capture an image half as detailed as what I was seeing, not even the earth aleph ones that didn't have to worry about endbringers.

There was a shift in the darkness that caught my eye, a shifting mass that almost blends with the star field.

A tessellating, wormish colossus, writhing in the darkness. My perception of it shifted from moment to moment, making it impossible to determine just how close or far away it truly was.

For a moment I panic, remembering Scion's true form and thinking for a terrible instant that all I had done and sacrificed had been for nothing, but as the moment stretches and I had time to look, I realize this couldn't be him. This thing looks shattered and broken. Wounded. Gouges pock-marked its surface. This was my passenger, mutilated somehow. Half-remembered thoughts invade my mind.

 _\- So many stars. We're s- so very small, in the end. -_

Then a strange feeling passed over me, a feeling I dread more than death. Like I was a puppeteer trying to make the puppet move by tugging the strings from some remote place.

My passenger was trying to invade my mind, then something inside me SHIFTED.

A migrane the likes of which i'd never experienced before blooms within my skull, driving rusty nails into my brain. My vision flickers and shatters into a million differing perspectives. Is this how my passenger sees?

{Connection}

No Don't! We can't become that again!

{Regret}

{Sorrow}

{Determination}

Visions pass before my eyes of all the wretchedness of my life. All the compromises to my morality I made to try and do the right thing. Every mistake and every regret seared right into my brain.

{Fixing}

{Changes}

{Resolution}

My final conversation with Contessa is played back to me, as vivid as the moment I experienced them.

 _-"Because I think you have a chance to come back from this. Not much of a chance. Part of that rides on me. I could help you, or I could stop you from troubling anyone ever again. Part of that? It's up to you to win the fight, to take control and keep the Administrator from claiming everything you have, leaving you a shell."-_

{Surgery}

{Weapon}

{Negation}

They did something to me... to us. Unbinding the connection between myself and the Administrator left both of us broken. Trying to fix us had left both of us in worse shape. We should not be able to function after what they did to us. By the end we should have been unsalvageable. Something else interfered, though, fixed us in a way that not even Bonesaw or Panacea could.

{Entity}

{Manipulation}

{Designation: Mother}

The memories scatter and the connection snaps back on itself like an elastic band. There was a final skull-splitting blaze behind my eyes, and then the stars fade out into blackness and the pain with them.

There was no emotions left within me, I spent it all already and I just wanted everything to stop. There was too much to take in and not enough time to process it all. No more conflict, no burning desire to seek revenge. I just wanted to rest. I just wanted to be done with it all.

Coldness slowly seeps into my back and I blearily opened my eyes. I was greeted by the blank ceiling of the fox's cave. The moon shone round and full through the skylight, a pale egg nestled in blackness.

XxxxX XxxxX

The morning light eventually brightens the interior of the cavern and still I don't move. The revelations brought to me through the Administrator left me in a loop of self-examination throughout the night. After Gold Morning I should have been a shattered wreck. Let alone the probable brain damage that occurred when separating the Administrator from myself. My emotions and actions of the last few days were nothing like how I should have been acting. Every action and every emotion was now suspect and after yesterday's revelation I just didn't have the mental energy to analyse each and every action.

 _I wonder if Heartbreaker's victims ever felt this way. That they just changed, fundamentally, and just didn't have the capacity to realize that something was wrong._

Eventually my musings are broken when a wall of shadow shifts in the corner of the cave. Instantly my eyes dart to the wall and I am reminded that I was not alone in the mountain.

My vision adjusts to reveal that the shadows were actually the form of a giant fox's back and tails.

 _It's waking up_ , I thought numbly. All the while the fox seemed to become more alive, lethargy giving way to slow languid stretching. Like a cat uncurling from a particularly restful sleep.

I manage to find the willpower to sit up as the fox finally moved its gaze toward my direction. Its entire body turning around to face toward me and stepping into the light coming from the ceiling. It stops a comfortable distance away from me and simply sat there, all the while its tails sway slowly behind it.

There was a moment where our eyes met and a strange understanding passes through me. This creature had been alive for a very long time and little caught its interest any longer. It wields power so great that no living being on the face of the world could truly match its might. It was a prideful creature and it was very curious of the small impossible creature sitting before it.

I broke the eye contact immediately as fast as I could.

 _That had to be a master power, that feeling was like the Administrators influence. Like it was deeply rooted in my mind and impossible to disregard. Similar to the pull toward conflict that my passenger had upon me, just more visceral and straightforward._

A moment passes before a deep voice pierces the silence, conveying an almost aloof attitude. Although the sounds of the language were foreign to me, I could somehow still understand them.

 **"It is widely believed that all things, dead or alive, contain a form of energy known as chakra."**

I looked back toward the fox in a questioning manner, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

 **"It fuels all natural processes and is believed to be fundamental to all life."** The fox pauses briefly. Red eyes boring straight into me.

 **"Yet when I first spied you trespassing within my territory there was not even a hint of chakra. In fact the very nature energy around you just seemed to vanish. Not be absorbed like I had initially hypothesized but literally vanished into nothingness."** Another pause and then the voice returned with a more threatening tone.

 **"So tell me, little human-shaped impossibility, what are you?"**

It took a few minutes to articulate what I wished to say. The fox all the while continued boring holes through me with its eyes. Its posture slipping into a more threatening cadence. Eventually my voice came, slipping and stuttering with the foreign language. Each word I spoke gradually became more certain than the last, until my speech became fluent syllables.

"I-I'm not s-sure what you're a-asking. I would s-say that I am human but I'm not c-certain of that anymore. Recently I think more and more that I'm simply a monster pretending to be human."

 **"I didn't mean the question philosophically, I meant the question literally. If you were human you'd be dead from your lack of chakra, plain and simple. 'Monster' is a vague term and it doesn't explain what you are."** An irritated note edged into its voice.

I lick my lips nervously.

"I'm not sure what chakra is, but I know I was born human. And I'm pretty sure I'm alive. Although I might be dead." I said.

A silence once again descends. Reluctantly I gather together the questions that I felt needed to be asked.

"What did you do to me? I know I'm not speaking english right now, so you must have somehow implanted an entire language into my mind." The statement came out sounding like a question.

The fox seems to think for a moment before finally answering.

The foxes gaze drifts to stare off in remembrance as it explains.

 **"It is a long forgotten art that involves the manipulation of chakra. Originally designed to give the person a better understanding of themselves, as well as others. Normally this process is quick and effortless."** The foxes gaze returns to its focus on me.

 **"However your unusual nature in regards to chakra seems to have complicated the process. The best I could manage was to impress proper language upon you before the connection was broken. By the time I was done you had fallen unconscious and so I decided to wait."** There was another pause before the fox continued.

 **"Tell me, what was your purpose for entering my territory? If it were not for my own curiosity I would have killed you the moment you stepped foot on my mountain. Your reasons must have been extraordinary to risk my wrath."** The fox stated in a neutral tone.

I decide to be completely honest, since I was wondering the same question.

"I haven't been myself since I arrived on this world. My emotions and memories have been tampered with. The extent to which I am still try..." I stop as I notice the surprise on the fox's face.

"What?"

 **"Your statement implies that there are other worlds, and you clearly are not one of the summons, nor could you have contacted them without chakra. I find the concept hard to believe. You claim to be not of this world, truly?"** The fox asks skeptically.

"Ah, I guess parallel world theory isn't common knowledge here?"

The fox shakes its head in negation.

"Well the way I learned it was that earth has a number of parallel instances of itself. Weather that number was just 2 or if there were many others was not really well understood. I've found out myself that there are hundreds, if not thousands of worlds out there."

 **"You've been to them? These other worlds?"** The fox couldn't help but ask.

"Other than my home world I didn't really spend too much time on any other world. Most of my time on other worlds was when I was fighting and running." I didn't like where the conversation was going. It brought up too many painful memories.

 **"What were you running from that could chase you across worlds?"**

That question was hard to answer. _How does somebody explain the concept of an interdimensional space-whale without sounding ridiculous._

"He was like a god. At first everyone worshipped him as a savior. Most people changed their minds once he revealed his true colors and became hell bent on the annihilation of everyone around him… He ended up killing billions before I killed him."

I didn't mean to say that last part but at this point I was numb to the conversation. I didn't want to think about HIM anymore, I just wanted to go curl up in a corner and just not think about anything for a while.

Still the fox raises an eyebrow and continues his questioning.

 **"You? Kill a God. I find that hard to believe when you couldn't even escape my grip yesterday."**

"I wasn't alone, and the fight left me broken. The fact I'm even functional enough to be having this conversation is something I still don't understand."

There was silence for a time after that statement. I use that time to collect myself and try to parse the visions my passenger had shown me. It was a lost cause though, nothing new popped into my head and I continue to avoid eye contact with the fox all the while.

The silence didn't last long however as the fox spoke once more.

 **"Your story is similar to one I know. I would like to hear the whole thing."**

I didn't know how to feel about the statement. I had experienced a lot in my short life and I didn't particularly feel like telling my life's story. However I did know that this was as good an opportunity as any to get to know the world I now inhabited.

"All right I'll tell you my story but in exchange Id like to know as much as I can about this world."

The fox contemplated this for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.

"Alright I guess the best point to start would be in 1982, an ocean liner was crossing from Plymouth to Boston whe-" Suddenly the fox interrupts.

 **"What is an ocean liner?"**

 _This is going to take longer than I thought._

AN- I'd like to thank Dragonofshadows115 for all his help polishing up this mess I call a story. The first part here is rough but I promise it gets better. Crossposting from Spacebattles, check it out there for colored texts and other such things.


	2. Chapter 2: Alien Teacher

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."

\- Tom Clancy

I know now why my mother wanted to be a teacher. After Winslow I never imagined myself being a teacher, but this isn't so bad. Though the scope of the questions were getting a little out of hand.

 **"How can you be so sure that this so called oil dates back hundreds of millions of years ago? Surely any evidence of the fact would be wiped clean over the eons."** Kyuubi states, disbelief clearly evident in his voice.

"It has to do with some of the fundamentals of matter. Certain types of elements sort of fall apart at a very slow but measurable and constant rate, we use that known rate and comparisons to sort of figure out the general time frame."

I tried to think of any more specifics I knew about radioactive decay but honestly I wasn't ever that interested in physics, even during my later years with the Wards.

We had fallen into this endless back-and forth of questioning after my first three attempts to tell the story of my world's fall. Somewhere in these questions the fox reminds me that he wants to be referred to as Kyuubi. I was told that this was merely a moniker and not in fact his name. Apparently I had yet to earn the use of his true name. I in turn reintroduced myself as Skitter, making sure that he knew that this was also a moniker for myself. In this process I removed my mask and placed it in my backpack. I'd nearly forgotten I had it on; it just felt like a part of me at this point. I didn't really care if he knew my face or name, I just thought it would have more meaning to reciprocate rather than to just give him my name.

 **"Hmm, I'm still not sure I completely follow. let's come back to that question later. Tell me of these so-called fundamentals."**

The questions never seemed to end, but with each round of explanations the atmosphere between the two of us became more amicable, almost friendly. It helped take my mind off of the Golden Morning and what I had done as Kephri. It gave me a purpose, too. Teaching Kyuubi was more fun than I had thought it would be. It made me forget that he was a towering giant that could accidentally kill me if he so much as sneezed too hard in my general direction. _Funny how easy it is to become friendly toward a Godzilla-fox compared to people from my world._

Eventually the day drew to a close and I started to feel the hollowness in my stomach. I hadn't eaten in over a day and what I had left in my backpack was just some thoroughly crushed-berries. I habitually reached out to the bugs around me, then realized that my powers hadn't returned yet.

 _I wonder if my passenger is alright? In my vision it looked heavily heavily damaged but I had the impression that the damage was mostly superficial at this point. Whatever took us from Contessa's group must have mostly healed us somehow._

Kyuubi seemed to sense my hunger because he got up from his resting position as soon as I started looking in my backpack.

 **"I had hoped you would be less fragile little worm. I'll be back before sunset with sustenance. Just don't expect this to become routine. Also don't touch anything, I don't want your human stink everywhere."** Kyuubi Proceeds to walk right out the cave entrance without letting me get a word in edgewise.

 _To be fair I couldn't find any bodies of water larger than a couple of small puddles. Although if these questions keep going the way they have been I will need to figure out better living conditions. The cold cave floor isn't exactly the definition of comfortable._

I'm still not in much of a mood to explore outside the mountain so I decide to plop myself down near the ceiling hole. I use my backpack as a makeshift pillow and just cloud watch until eventually I manage to fall asleep.

I am awoken by the sound of a small tree landing about 10 feet away from my head. I bolt upright instantly and I unconsciously pull on my powers. The surprise and adrenaline seems to be enough to finally wake up my passenger from its nap. Instantly I became aware of my surroundings. Including Kyuubi who is looking at me rather expectantly.

"You know when you said you were getting food this isn't what I imagined." I stated tiredly, looking at the disheveled apple tree.

Kyuubi scoffs angrily at me.

 **"Listen here you ungrateful worm, I didn't have to bring you anything. Besides, what exactly did you think I was going to bring? A bushel of berries, a rabbit perhaps? That would be like you trying to carry a few grains of sand all the way up this mountain. Besides this way is much more efficient, you can eat these for a week straight and not run out."** Kyuubi states smugly.

"Well I do appreciate the gesture but I'd probably get sick if all I ate was apples for a week straight."

I mentally added biology and human anatomy to the curriculum, just in case he was unfamiliar with how humans typically worked.

"You really haven't spent much time around humans have you?" I state neutrally

 _He must have a pretty lonely existence up here away from everybody. No wonder he went and got me food, he probably doesn't want me to leave. I'm most likely the only company he has had in a long time._

 **"Maybe if any of them had been worth my time. All the humans do on this world is war with one another." Kyuubi growls lowly. "I care nothing for the flesh-worms, but with every 'jutsu'" he spits out the word "They defile my father's teachings. It makes me sick anytime I even look at one of them."** Kyuubi was nearly roaring at this point, and my ears were ringing.

 _Well looks like we've found a hot button issue._

"Can I ask about him, your father I mean?" I questioned innocently while I picked a few apples from the tree beside me.

 _It's unnatural how quickly I've become relaxed around Kyuubi. I wonder if he is influencing me toward being comfortable around him somehow?_ I mentally shrug the question away.

 **"He was the only human I ever respected. The reason why I said your story sounded familiar was because of him. He told us that he defeated a god and sealed its body within the moon and divided its power to create my siblings and I. Our father created us near the end of his life so I didn't spend much time around him. That was hundreds, if not thousands of years ago though. I don't keep track of the years."** The fox gazed off in remembrance.

 _Now isn't that an interesting tidbit. If there are people that powerful here I really need to start learning about them fast. I'll have to ask when I'm not dead tired though._

"I think tomorrow should be your turn to teach. All I've done today is answer your questions, so it's only fair."

 **"Whatever you say, little worm. Just eat your food and go to sleep."** Kyuubi huffs and returns to his corner of the cave. Curling up again with his back facing towards me.

 _I have a feeling that he thinks of me like I'm some sort of pet._

After eating my late night dinner of fruit I curl back up under my skylight and fall asleep to the sounds of the forests around the mountain. Drifting in the sensations my swarm projected to me.

XxxxX XxxxX

I was woken once again by the sound of a falling tree. Having reflexively sat up I slowly move my head upwards to stare accusingly at the smirking fox.

 _He used the same fucking apple tree from yesterday to wake me up. If this becomes a regular thing I'm going to develop a phobia for trees._

"Why?" I groan, slumping back onto my backpack turned pillow

 **"Because, it worked so well yesterday. I thought this to be the most efficient means to wake you. Besides I could hardly sleep last night through your stench. You will go clean yourself before I can stand to be near you. There is a river not far from here, it's located northwest. You should be able to spot it from the cliffs opposite where this caves entrance is."** Kyuubi states in an imperious baritone

I was a bit conflicted, I really did want to get clean but it felt so much less important than learning the history of this world. Through my swarm sense I observed that today was likely to be a warm sunny day. The need to be outside eventually decides the matter.

 _Nothing to do about it. The faster I get this done the quicker I can return. Hopefully with my passenger awake I'll be able to steer clear of any danger._

Getting up I put on my backpack and trudge out to the cave entrance. Once outside I manage to find a small path that wraps around the circumference of the mountain. It only took a few minutes before I was able to spot the glimmer of water in the far distance.

 _This is going to be one hell of a walk just to take a bath, I mentally sigh._

Eventually I gather some resolve and make my descent from the mountain. All the while watching with my bugs to make sure that my path was clear and that the forests ahead were empty of threats.

It doesn't take long until the river enters my perception range. The river was in actuality only a few miles from the mountain, but the forests between the mountain and the river extended the walk by a couple hours, making the trip seem much longer than it actually was. Once arriving at the nearest secluded bend in the river I notice something odd.

Two kids are beating the crap out of each other. The strange thing was that they were fighting on top of the water like it was solid ground. For all the violence they seemed to still be enjoying themselves, grinning widely, so I didn't even consider intervening.

 _Okay well, that's odd. Even if they were parahumans it's unlikely that they'd have similar enough abilities to fight like that. This world may not have the same rules regarding powers here, I can't make assumptions about how this world works yet. Maybe this is the...'jutsu' that the fox mentioned. Besides that who just lets their kids wander the forests when Kyuubi lives so close? I guess I'll observe them from here and ask Kyuubi about it when I get back._

The kids are almost a mile downstream and around a river bend, so I'm not too worried about them finding me. It took longer than I wished to admit but I manage to get most of my clothes off using my one good hand and proceeded to scrub the filth from them.

Just as I finish up my washing, I notice the kids had stopped their fighting. They seem to converse quickly with one another before both of them start moving in my direction.

 _Was one of them capable of sensing me from this far away? Do they have Thinker-like abilities?_

I berate myself for underestimating an unknown. I should have just moved away when I first spotted them, but curiosity got the better of me. I just hadn't seen any humans in what feels like forever.

I quickly put on my damp clothes and retrieve my mask from my backpack. I move to the hollow of a nearby tree, whose roots provided a decent hideaway.

 _Do they know I'm here or is it coincidence? I'm not taking chances, these kids were still unknowns. For all I know they can shoot lasers out their eyes or light things on fire with their minds._

Every insect in my range moves to gather around the river banks, hiding in bushes and the tops of the trees. The numbers are quite staggering considering my normal numbers were limited to urban environments and about half the range.

 _I could probably make Kyuubi pause with numbers like this. If I went for the eyes._

The two boys make their way to the opposite side of the river surprisingly fast. They start having a discussion, speaking quietly all the while.

I began listening in on their conversation using the bugs I had just gathered.

"-telling you I could smell someone downstream from us." States the first boy in a quiet whisper.

"And I'm telling YOU that nobody ever comes this far east, it's the whole reason we are usually alone out here. All those superstitious elders always say that the nearby mountain is cursed with evil spirits. And since when were you an Inuzuka anyway?" The second boy asks belligerently. The conversation devolves from there until they are shouting insults to one another. The conversation devolves from there until they are shouting insults to one another.

 _Is this seriously happening right now? They look old enough to be teenagers and they are bickering like 6-year-olds. They'd probably still spot me if I move from my hiding spot though._

Gathering a portion of the swarm behind the boys I proceed to project my swarm voice, not yet forming a full clone.

 _"You Know it's rude to spy on people right?"_ The swarm's ominous facsimile of speech emanates from the choir of bugs.

The two stop yelling and spin around to face the general direction the voices came from.

"Show yourself!" the spiky haired one yells while the other looks around in dawning horror. He was the one talking about evil spirits earlier. Superstitious? I could use that.

I gather a swarm clone, slowly forming it so as to distract the two from my real body. I climb out of the tree hollow as quickly as I can and start heading toward the mountain, all the while still conversing with the two.

The swarm clone now looked quite ominous with its flat yellow/gold eyes-composed of butterfly wings- staring right at the two boys. Their hair is as different as can be; one has a bowl-cut while the other's is long and improbably spikey. Bowl cut is having a sort of panic attack and was doing something with his hands. The other is grim-faced and looks a little worried at his friends panicky behavior.

 _"Hello there, nice to meet you. Care to share why you are out here on this fine day?"_ The swarm clone buzzes in harsh imitation of this worlds speech.

Spiky-hair seems about to answer when the other boy grabs him and whispers loudly into his ear.

"It doesnt have any chakra; it must be an evil spirit from the mountain. Be careful what you say or it will eat your soul...at least that's what I hear elder Toka always saying." The boy stops his explanation as he looks in my direction.

I decide to have some fun and the swarm clone seems to grow horns and an approximation of giant wings sprouting out the back. The shift is suspiciously easy to make and seems to give the clone a facsimile of a solid form.

 _"Ahhh so you've caught on. Smart little humans aren't you?"_ My clone hisses. Best to intimidate them. It would concentrate them on the clone and let me get far enough away.  
The two seem to frozen in fear for a moment.

 _"Well why would you think your souls are worth anything to me anyway?"_ I taunt feigning disinterest

Spiky-hair seems to have taken exception to my words. He jumps in front of his friend and proceeds to do some weird things with his hands before he starts shouting."FIRE STYLE GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Out of nowhere the forest in front of the boy is engulfed in a searing wave of fire. The swarm clone practically disintegrated with the heat of the fire, the bugs that made it up boiling and dying as the heat cooked them. Strangely the fire seemed to contain itself to the area and none of it spread too far.

A slight feeling of warmth passes over my real body. I barely pay the feeling any attention as I start reconstructing the clone. All the while I was still moving away from the two and I couldn't help but think to myself.

 _THAT'S a jutsu? Okay, well, I totally called it, they can actually breath fucking fire. What the actual hell. Good to know that now instead of in person I suppose._

Finally forming another identical clone I continue the conversation as if nothing happened at all.

 _"Your diplomatic skills need work. You aren't exactly convincing me of your good intentions either. Though I'm still not sure what I would want with your souls. Tell me, what are you two doing out here?"_ I ask in a bored-sounding buzz

Spikey-hair seems floored that his technique failed. The other one however looks like he was gonna wet himself as he furiously bows and scrapes.

"WE ARE SO SORRY MS SPIRIT, WE WERE JUST TRAINING I SWEAR! I PROMISE WE WILL NEVER BOTHER YOU AGAIN IF YOU JUST SPARE US THIS ONCE! WE DIDN'T MEAN TO DISTURB YOU WE SWEAR!" The kid goes on and on about how sorry he is, with no sign of stopping.

 _"Is he always like this? If so I feel kinda sorry for you."_ I ask spiky-hair.

That seems to snap the spiky haired kid out of his shock as he glares at my clones 'eyes'.

"Yes he is. Now tell us what you want." He states angrily

The question seems to break the other boy from his stream apologies.

Thinking for a moment I decide that these two could be a useful source of information about the societies that live here.

 _"Well that's a hard question, I don't really know myself. Your world is new to me so I suppose you could say that I want to learn about it. You still haven't answered my question though. From your earlier conversation I take it that you aren't supposed to be out here?"_

The boy with the bowl cut takes this opportunity to jump back into the conversation.

"We both aspire to be awesome ninjas, so we use this river to train whenever we can!" The bowl cut boy proclaims. This statement gets a scowl from the spikey haired one as he looks at the other boy with disapproval and a hint of indignation.

"What? She hasn't attacked yet, even after you tried to light her on fire! She has to be a friendly spirit then." The boy states matter of factly

Both of us stare at the boy for a moment before a look of excitement crosses his face.

"Wait! That means you know lots of secret jutsus and forbidden knowledge right!? It's like the story of the forest spirit that gave people the knowledge to use healing jutsu! You have to teach us now that we have uncovered your nature, right?" The boy gave the puppy eyes of doom

 _"No."_ I state flatly

The boy looked devastated by that single word but I continue nonetheless.

 _"Besides I've already got one student and I really don't see why I'd take the effort to teach you two."_

Bowl-cut seems dejected but the spiky haired one seems to have gained a vindictive gleam to his eyes.

"Well if you won't teach us then I will have to report you to my clan." The kid seems smug about his declaration.

Normally I'd just scoff and leave but if humans started poking about near the mountain then Kyuubi might decide to take offense and smite the lot of them.

 _Seriously why does the world conspire to force me into these roles? My old life was one forced move after another, culminating in my final role as a sort of monstrous savior. Now I'm the goddamn knowledge fairy giving kids free education. What the hell has my life turning into?_

Well there wasn't a reason I couldn't turn this to my advantage. Right now I needed to make Kyuubi's cave livable and here I had two errand boys who had access to some sort of civilized society. Based on the nice clothes and weapons they'd been using, I could at least assume that the civilizations here were at least iron-age.

 _"How about a trade? Lessons in what I deem appropriate and in exchange you two will bring some human trinkets and tell me what you know of the world."_

I was getting close to the limit of my range and I needed to end the conversation soon or stop, and I didn't want to be any closer than absolutely necessary to two teenagers with unknown powers. Who apparently wanted to be ninjas. Go figure.

 _"In fact, why don't you two think on it and we will meet at this spot tomorrow sometime?"_ I state before the two can protest, then disperse the swarm clone while leaving my swarm in the general area to eavesdrop.

The boys look at one another for a moment having some sort of silent conversation. Bowl-cut was giving the other kid a look of 'Don't you dare ruin this for us' and was adamantly crossing his arms across his chest.

"You can't really believe that thing was a spirit, can you? They're not real, just stories."

"I may not be as good a sensor as my brother but I'm telling you that those bugs were not being affected by any outside chakra. I even checked for genjutsu! It has to be a spirit, that's the only thing that makes sense." The other boy proclaims excitedly

"Well this doesn't feel right, how do you know we can trust such a creature? What if it turns on us? That thing wasn't even fazed by my fireball jutsu."

"I don't think its evil. I think it's really is just a harmless bug spirit. Besides you aren't scared of bugs are you?" The bowl cut haired boy taunts, making creepy-crawly motions with his fingers.

The two boys start yelling at one another again, before breaking out into another 'sparring' match.

 _I can already tell that these two are going to be two little bundles of joy, I thought sarcastically as I made my way back to the Kyuubi's mountain. Now I could finally ask my questions and find out what the hell a jutsu was._

Making my way to the cave entrance I take a moment to marvel at its sheer size before heading into the surprisingly well lit interior.

It's about midday now and Kyuubi is in his usual corner looking slightly distracted before he notices me and his face goes blank. I take my usual spot right in front of his spot, and begin to make myself comfortable. He hasn't said a word yet but I can feel his anticipation at my inevitable questioning session.

I contemplate what I want to share and ask of the Kyuubi. Eventually I decide to tell him of my encounter with the two children.

 **"It has been a long time since the humans have been bold enough to move close to my territory. Normally I would remind them of their folly, but they may prove useful if you are to be staying within my domain."** Kyuubi mutters to himself. His disinterest and callousness towards the humans sends a shiver of unease through my spine before he finally sighs.

 **"Your abilities are also not as special as you might imagine. The Aburame clan are known for their obsessive devotion toward insect control and usage. Now if you are finished, we have more important matters to cover."**

I was a bit annoyed that he dismissed my abilities so easily but I wasn't about to argue with him. I do however try to mentally note down the name of this insect clan.

 **"As you are completely bereft of even the most basic facts of this world I will need to start on some of the most fundamental elements. Your theories on the laws of nature seem suprisingly consistent but they are lacking in very important ways. The major factor that seems to contradict all these theories and laws is chakra. Thus, chakra and its usages shall be your starting point for your education in this world."**

I simply nod my head and wait for further details. The Kyuubi directs a glace in my direction before he seems satisfied and continues his dialogue.

 **"The first thing you must know is that chakra is fundamental to everything and it suffuses all life on this world. It is made manifest through the combination of physical and spiritual energies, in doing so one ca-**

With a vindictive smile and equally vindictive pleasure I interrupt the 100 foot fox with a question. Mimicking his interruption of my first lessons.

"Hold on, what is spiritual energy? Is that a metaphor for something else or-"

 **"STOP, I see what you are doing and I am not amused. Halt all questions until AFTER i've finished my explanation."** The fox growls out

I huff in indignation as I grumble at the unfairness. Finally I quiet down and wait for more information.

 **"Now as I was saying the most fundamental functions of chakra are thus-"**

XxxxX XxxxX

AN: Sorry if this chapter is a bit of a bore.  
Special thanks to QafianSage for the revisions  
Next chapter: Parent Teacher Conference


	3. Chapter 3: Parent Teacher Conference

"Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives."  
\- Abba Eban (1915-2002)

It is not quite as fun being the student, although I imagine this was mostly due to the Kyuubi's teaching methods. Instead of a question and answer method, Kyuubi preferred a more methodical, structured curriculum. I learned the basics of what chakra was and it turns out that it's basically magic. Chakra has a wide range of capabilities, from manipulating gravity to creating a portable pocket dimension with a piece of paper.

Basically, it is utter bullshit and I find myself sympathizing with the Kyuubi's mindset toward the humans here. They have had hundreds of years to improve themselves, gifted with chakra by Kyuubi's father and still any community that tried to make something of themselves seemed to either fall into civil war or become torn apart by neighboring communities hiring so-called 'ninjas'.

Kyuubi gives a brief rundown of some of the clans and small communities that live relatively close by. The clans that were closest and most likely the clans that the kids belonged to were the Uchiha and Senju. They have been involved in generations of conflict with one another.

It's a little disturbing that those kids want to grow up to be the equivalent of mercenaries. Constant war should not be the environment they have to grow up in.

After my first lessons, Kyuubi finally gives me permission to ask my questions.

My first question is an obvious one given the source of this information.

"How can you know so much about the politics and details of the communities here? It's not like you could eavesdrop on people from miles away, and I highly doubt you could sneak around a village regardless of how impossibly quiet you can be."

 **"My main method of discovering these details is through an ability of mine though. I can divine the intent of darker emotions. With concentration, my range exceeds several hundred kilometers in any direction. The emotions can give me enough information to make a reasonable guess at the comings and goings of humans. One of my first dens actually lay not only a few miles from a small village."**

I can't help but ask. "What happened to that den? Did the people discover you and drive you out?" It seemed ridiculous, given how massive the fox was, but who knew what these 'ninja' could do given time.

The fox is quiet for a long moment before he answers.

 **"No, quite the opposite . They knew of me since the day I arrived, they even boasted about their 'great guardian spirit'. Back then the people knew of my connection to father...They thought I was like him."** Kyuubi states tonelessly **"They became arrogant, thinking my mere proximity gave them a right to take other peoples' lands and possessions. At first, I did nothing to stop them. Father wouldn't have wanted me to interfere. He always believed that the strong should give their strength to others to help them and should never use it on the weak. At the time I believed that lesson to be specifically meant for the Biju. So I watched the community grow with each conquest. Eventually, the community became a village, then a city until finally it was a metropolis whose influence stretched nearly a hundred miles in any direction."** The fox describes in wistful remembrance

 **"I had hope back then that they might change themselves. Might start acting in a way that wasn't so violent and self-serving. After all, they had taken every surrounding village as their own, what more could they do besides falling to civil war?"**

 _I can imagine,_ I think to myself. _Humans on Earth did horrible things to each other and we didn't have superpowers until thousands of years after we started making real civilizations._ I kept silent to let Kyuubi tell his story.

 **"I learned never to underestimate the human's ability to cause suffering. They started making slaves of their own citizens, forcing their own children into...well when I realized what they were doing I was furious. I let my anger be known."** Kyuubi states vindictively

"And what became of the city?"

 **"I erased them. At the time I was afraid that their moral code would be contagious, so I made sure that nothing of it would remain. Had I known more of human nature I might not have bothered."**

"By erased what exactly do you mean?"

Kyuubi stares at me for a moment before giving his response

 **"Let's just say that the deserts of Wind Country were not always so large as they are now."**

I blinked. _Just like that, an entire civilization was wiped off the stage. Yet I cant find it within myself to be mad at Kyuubi. I know what its like to do the wrong thing for the right reasons._

"Is that why you live out here in the forests of Fire Country? Fewer people to pick up bad emotions from?" I question hesitantly.

 **"It isn't the emotions that perturb me, it's when they act on them. I could care less if they all killed one another but its the fact that they used Father's teachings, meant to bring peace, and used instead for conquest and violence. They claim to use jutsu in the name of justice and they hardly even realize the hypocrisy of the act."** Kyuubi growls out

My questions eventually peter out as the sun makes its way into the horizon. The images my power is giving me via my bugs are clearer than ever. I wonder if it's because of the new insect species here or if my passenger is just better at sending signals to my brain. _That reminds me._

"Hey Kyuubi, when I first arrived is it possible that that 'ninshu' thing could have had side effects?" I ask.

 **"Hmm, I suppose it's possible. The process didn't exactly go smoothly. Why are you experiencing problems?"** Kyuubi asks.

 _Is that actually a hint of concern I hear? Or is that another side effect?_

"Well after you did that I've noticed that you sort of... project your feelings. I noticed it more when we first met but even now there are still impressions. My mind has been tampered with enough and I'd really like to know if you did what you did on purpose." The statement comes out more accusative than I meant, but I can't bring myself to regret it.

Kyuubi contemplated for a moment before he voices his thoughts.

 **"I have two theories on what might be happening here. The first is that the ninshu technique created a link between us. I find this theory the least likely as I would be able to detect such a connection if it were present. The second is that you are absorbing some of the nature energy that is passing through you. This is also problematic as high concentrations of nature energy chakra usually petrifies living tissue. The only living beings besides the animal sages who can channel nature chakra are my siblings and me."** Kyuubi states in a contemplative tone

"Perhaps it has to do with my powers, could it be funnelling the energy?" I ask mostly to myself

 **"I don't see how, if this power is a part of your body then the nature chakra still has to be stored somewhere. Where would it be channelling to that you wouldn't feel the effects?"** Kyuubi questions curiously

 _Ah, that's right I never explained the full details to Kyuubi. All he knows is what I can do with my powers, not what they actually are._

"That's actually a bit complicated. You see, my powers don't originate from my body. Well, they do, but only through my brain as far as I know. There is a connection in here " -I tap the side of my head to illustrate- "that is similar to a... pocket dimension or seal, I guess, if we wanna use a term you are familiar with" I say while pointing to my head

"The people who knew of the powers' origins called them 'shards' or sometimes 'passengers'. They're sort of alive, but not really _intelligent,_ not like us anyways. Mine was tampered with, damaged, just like I was. Maybe it's using the chakra to heal? I don't really know unless there was a way to establish another connection. I'd rather not be connected to it in that way though. The first time nearly killed both of us and the second wasn't too pleasant either."

Kyuubi seems to mull that over for a while before he finally voices his opinion again.

 **"That's...rather perturbing. If this... passenger of yours takes in too much nature chakra there may be side effects, none of which are likely to be good for you. Now enough questions, I need time to think about this."** Kyuubi states before turning around and laying down.

There is silence in the cave, only broken by the occasional gust of wind making its way down the skylight. Eventually, night fully arrives and I set up my makeshift pillow under the stars once again. The sounds of the mountain filter through my swarm and I drift off to their silent whispers.

XxxxX XxxxX

The next morning I wake to the sound of Kyuubi growling. Swiftly finding my feet I get up and make my way over to him. He seems to be glaring straight at a wall, in the general direction of where the river should be.

 **"The humans are fighting at the base of my mountain. They never fought this close before you started staying here."** Kyuubi states accusingly

"Do you think it could be those kids from yesterday I told you about?" I ask quickly as I turn and make my way to the cave entrance. Kyuubi grudgingly follows with slow easy steps.

 **"There are a few brats, but there are six in total. I am not happy about this, Skitter, in fact, I don't think you should be teaching these children. This just shows that they will use your knowledge to hurt themselves and others."** Kyuubi states imperiously as we make our way to the front of the mountain.

"Don't you ever tire of the constant violence, these endless wars that you taught me about?" I state exasperatedly as I try to keep up with Kyuubi's pace.

At the question, the fox actually stops to look down at me before he continues walking.

 **"The answer to that should be blatantly obvious. Why do you ask?"** Kyuubi sounds a bit miffed at the sudden strange question.

"Well, the only way you will ever see a stop to this violence is first to show them a better way. It takes effort, but you won't ever see peace if all you do is destroy everyone you don't like. Just let me talk to them first before you decide to squash them please." I ask, hopefully.

Kyuubi grumbles to himself. We stop at the cave entrance for a moment before he speaks.

 **"You have 10 minutes before I go down there and wipe them from the face of my mountainside."** Kyuubi states seriously.

I nod and search through my swarm sense to locate the fighting people. It wasn't quite necessary because as soon as I started looking a giant fireball flashes through the treetops. I summon every insect in my range and have them converge at the location. Once a sufficient mass is reached I began forming a decent image of the battlefield.

The clearing was postmarked with scorched forest and a few spots seemed to be sporting small puddles of water. In the center, two older men are locked in a swordfight, while off to either side two sets of boys fight tooth-and-nail. I recognize one pair of them as the kids I met at the river before. They look nothing like they had yesterday, stone-faced and clad in battle-armor instead of their normal clothes. The other set of boys are even younger looking and yet they too were wielding swords and knives.

 _Seriously, what the hell is going on here? Why are they fighting when just yesterday they seemed like good friends?_

With a shout one of the adults sends a fireball at the younger white-haired child. The child manages to spew a ball of water at the ball of fire, blocking it and creating a billowing cloud of steam.  
 _  
That kid could have died from that! I'm ending this NOW!_

The battlefield quietens as a shadow passes over the battlefield and with it the sound of millions of insects buzzing in eerie synchrony.

 _"This is not what I imagined when I struck an agreement with you two. A single day and you bring violence to my domain? why."_ I end on a flat, buzzing drone that I know from experience speaks to the hindbrain, sending fear skittering down the spine.

Everyone is frozen, gaze locked on the horde of insects that cast the clearing into a gloomy dusk.

Then one of the adults starts flashing through hand signs.

"Father don't!" Spiky-hair shouts to the person who is probably his father. It's too late however as the spiky-haired man proceeds to shout his technique.

 _Really, this again? I wonder if they greet all people this way or if I'm just lucky that that._ I pull the swarm away from where he's looking, but the fireball comes too fast to save them all.

"FIRE RELEASE GREAT FIRE ANNIHILATION!" The torrent of flame is absolutely massive. It encompassing nearly in the entire swarm. The tail end of the flame was easily visible from where I sat next to Kyuubi.

Kyuubi looks down at me, unimpressed.

"I'm handling it" I assure him a little too quickly. He scoffs and casts his gaze back down the mountain.

The aftermath of the attack was rather disturbing. Insects of all types rained down upon the battlefield. The smell of crispy bug hung heavily in the air even after the last of the insects hit the ground.

The spiky-haired man looks winded, but his face bears an arrogant, self-satisfied smirk. The smile doesn't last long, however, as I gather the remains of the swarm that had lagged behind due to their distance from the fight.

Instead of hovering them out in the open, I surround the whole field with them, creating a dark, buzzing curtain that blocked the view of the forest completely. This time I manage to form a swarm clone without interruption and this clone was sporting the same demonic theme as when I last met the boys.

 _"Care to explain what this is all about?"_ I ask while looking between the two boys I was familiar with.

Before either can reply however the man who just ignited the sky a moment ago speaks.  
"Have you no honor, Senju, that you must employ the Aburame to fight your battles for you?"

Taking a closer look at the older man I notice something odd going on with his eyes. The onyx color seems to have shifted to a red color and there seem to be some odd shapes spinning within the iris.

I swear if he starts shooting lasers from his eyes I'm going to leave Kyuubi to deal with them.

Before I can speak I'm interrupted again. This time by the other older male. "The Senju would never stoop so low as to use such tactics. Unlike you, I listen and value my sons' opinions. Hashirama has told me of this spirit and assured me that it means no harm. I simply wish to speak with it."

The two look like they are about to come to blows again. _I'd better intervene._

 _"Silence, both of you. I asked the boys a question, not you two,"_ The echo of the swarm's voice eminates from every direction, giving the speech more volume than would normally be possible.

Finally, the now named Hashirama steps forward and bows before speaking.

"We are sorry, great forest spirit. My father and brother just wanted to make sure I wasn't being fooled. I imagine something similar must have happened with...the Uchiha as well." Hashirama reluctantly finishes. Giving a quick glance over to Madara.

A memory of Kyuubi's lessons last night makes me realize something. looking over to Madara I ask him a question.

 _"You two didn't ever give each other your clan names did you?"_

Madara shakes his head before answering.

"It's simply not done, clan affiliations can get oneself killed if it is discovered by the wrong people."

 _"This fighting stops as long as you are on this land. This will be neutral territory. Is that understood?"_

Both adults open their mouths but the Uchiha voices his protest faster. "As leader of the Uchiha, I will not allow my clan to bow to an unknowns demands. Our war with the Senju and the deaths they have caused will not allow me to submit to this with my honor intact."

 _Is this guy seriously taking the high and mighty road? He won't put away his own pride, when doing so could help end a fucking war? It was people like him that made saving my world so difficult._

 _"How much is your honor worth? What price would you be willing to pay for to keep it? Tell me, if you could finish this war with your honor intact but had to Stand in the ashes of a million souls would you do it? What do you think the ghosts would say if you asked them if honor mattered?"_ I ask harshly. I want to hear his answer.

The Uchiha seems taken aback by the question before he begins staring wide-eyed at me.

 _Somehow I think he realizes this question isn't hypothetical for me. He must be quite observant to be able to discern that just from a swarm clone. Still, his honor can go to Hell. He is standing there complaining about his honor when lives are at stake. It's this kind of stupidity that perpetuates wars._

With the Uchiha refusing to speak I turn toward the elder Senju.

 _"What of you? Will you agree to these land being a neutral territory?"_ I ask plainly.

The man actually looks at his sons for a moment before turning back to me.

"I would agree to your terms O spirit, if I am granted but one request?"

I nod the clones head. I'm willing to hear him at least.

"Will you take both my sons as your students?" He bows deferencially.

There is a pause before I sigh out loud in my real body. _This is just what I need, more students._

"Sure, why not. So long as it's just a few kids and not the entire clan's children I can agree to that." I acquiesce reluctantly. After all, what would it say about me if I refused? I'd be a hypocrite at best.

The Uchiha seems to be miffed by the Senjus response.

"You would trust the lives of your children with an unknown like this? Are you truly this foolish or do you simply not care for the lives of your own kin? I will hear no more of this. I refuse your proposal of neutrality and if you side with the Senju you shall be our enemy." The elder Uchiha states with finality

Madara actually looks a bit disappointed by that statement. He must have been secretly hoping to still be friends with the Senju boy.

The elder Uchiha gives everyone a look of contempt before crouching in preparation to jump. Whether this was to spring forward, to attack, or to retreat Iwould never know, because right at that moment the Kyuubi's countdown had finished.

Kyuubi leaps down the mountain and into the clearing, landing with a sound like an avalanche. Trees are blown this way and that, crashing to the ground.

Everyone besides me looks at Kyuubi in utter disbelief at his sheer size. Soon after the Kyuubi takes one look around and speaks.

 **"Well, Skitter your time is up, have you all come to an agreement yet or will I have to 'escort' them from my mountainside?"** Kyuubi looks hungrily down at the humans.

Everyone's gaze shifts to the Uchiha elder, who seems about ready to have a heart attack. Slowly his stance and face become neutral before he speaks again.

"The Uchiha may be willing to come to terms with creating a neutral ground agreement."

His voice only breaks once.

AN: So how does everyone feel about this, I know it may seem too quick to have the parents here but there are reasons. Skitter never told the boys to keep their agreement secret (even if it was implied) and the boys have no reason to not ask their respective parents about it. Next chapter Cold War part 1


	4. Chapter 4: Cold War Part 1

"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."

\- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

The clan elders agree to hold a meeting to discuss neutrality terms in a few days time. This was promptly followed by both parties fleeing for their lives. All the while, Kyuubi watches on with malicious glee.

 _"Remind me to bring you to all our negotiations, it will save us a lot of time."_ I joke halfheartedly.

 **"What exactly are you planning, Skitter?"** he rumbles. **"Why are you making deals with these humans, especially since it concerns MY mountain. Besides, no matter what they promise it is inevitable that they will betray their word."**

As I pause to think of a response the swarm clone disperses and reforms into a large cloud hovering before Kyuubi.

 _"The plan is to keep ourselves out of their war. Negotiation seems like the easiest way to keep ourselves from being involved without outright killing them. If they decide to renege on their agreements then we can show them why that is a bad idea for their long term survival. Besides, I really want to figure out what they are capable of. Even if you don't like their jutsu, it's still a good idea to keep tabs on what they can do, just in case they decide to use it on you."_

The fox laughs at my last statement.

 **"The reason I care so little is because the sage created my siblings and I as immortal beings. We are incapable of dying. No matter how hard the pitiful humans try they will never be able to kill one of us. Though I admit it has been a long time since any were stupid enough to try."**

 _"Still, don't you find the constant wars annoying? All these people with such potential and they just waste it. Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if your father's dream could be accomplished?"_

Kyuubi looks at the swarm with skepticism.

 **"What exactly do you mean? My father's dream was ill thought-out. He couldn't see the fundamental hatred mankind had for one another. Even with the teachings of ninshu his dream was a failure because people simply did not care enough to even try."**

 _"I think your father's idea failed because there was no common understanding for large groups of people to build on. His ninshu could be a powerful force for unity, but as you've described it it only worked from person to person and by physical contact. Once jutsu became prominent it may have seemed the easiest path to take for most people instead of gambling with their feelings. I think this failure was caused due to ninshu's inability to be used at range or with multiple people at once. Anyone who tried using it probably died to a fireball instead of actually accomplishing anything. That's why I think my world's philosophies could thrive here. In my world there was a system of ideas that, when they became widespread , we started to really change how things had been done for most of the rest of history. We called them 'enlightenment thinking', and I think you should know of them for you to understand what I plan to do with the clans."_

Kyuubi gives a thoughtful hum before turning back towards the mountain and heading in the direction of my real body.

XxxxX XxxxX

Settling back into the cavern, I begin my lesson of the day. I begin with a basic outline of the evolution of the scientific method and how it and its accompanying philosophies spread around my world. Then I try describing how these philosophies and cultural ideals lead to continent-spanning civilizations. This inevitably leads to more questions from Kyuubi about how my world handled themselves.

 **"If these countries' populations numbered in the hundreds of millions, then how was there not war constantly. I find it hard to believe that these countries didn't just fight continuously amongst themselves."**

"Well, most of human history is littered with hundreds of wars. It was only really during the last 50 years where we collectively decided that large-scale war would be too costly to initiate. Some attributed this to the creation of weapons of mass destruction, where the use of said weapons would ensure retaliation of the same kind."

 **"What exactly is a 'weapon of mass destruction', then?"** interrupted the fox. **"If it can cow even humans into not killing one another it must be truly devastating."**

"Yes, they were universally recognized as the most deadly technology of its time all the way up until scion arrived. With powers, the whole paradigm of war shifted to recognize Parahumans as the ultimate determining factor. Well, mostly anyway. It depended on the power. But almost any power could be leveraged into a weapon of some kind."

 **"So what is your goal here Skitter? Do you plan to teach the humans here to create these weapons and simply hope that they won't kill one another? If so I can guarantee that this plan is destined to fail."**

"No, my plan is to simply teach some kids about basic scientific thinking. If we can deter the nearby feuding clans with your presence, then that will be good enough for the short term. I would like to learn more about this world and its culture before I do anything drastic like cause a social revolution".

Our lesson quickly breaks down into the usual random questions Kyuubi has about my world. At the same time I decide to start fashioning myself a hammock out of spider silk. I talk through the night until I nearly fall asleep trying to describe how planetary motions are governed by gravity. Kyuubi eventually grows tired of asking questions and I manage to finish my my increased insect numbers the project is finished quicker than I anticipated. I build it right on my disheveled apple trees branches, upon lying down I fall almost immediately into a deep sleep.

The next morning proved to be a cloudy one. This gave the cave a rather dreary appearance and I found myself relying on my insects to get around without tripping on anything. Kyuubi seems to be in a contemplative mood so I decide not to pester him for more lessons just yet. About midway through the day the sun finally broke through the cloud layer and illuminated the caves interior, almost at the same time I notice two figures heading toward the mountain with my swarm.

I groan out loud, causing Kyuubi to raise his head from his napping position.

 _What the hell are those two doing? It's only been a day since they discovered they were mortal enemies. There is no way their parents are allowing them to come to the mountain, especially after Kyuubi's reveal._

Noticing Kyuubi's questioning stare I decide to explain while I form a swarm clone in front of the approaching boys."It appears my students have returned. I really can't fathom what they are trying to accomplish by coming here. Can't you sense them from here?"

 **"I could if I was concentrating, children tend not to have as much hatred as adults do. Tell me what their excuses are for treading on my territory."**

The boys have stopped in front of my clone and look a bit unsure of themselves.

 _"Well, what are you two doing here? Does anyone even know you are here?"_

Both boys look at one another before shaking their heads. Hashirama speaks after whispering something to Madara.

"Our clans are too busy panicking over the awakening of the Kyūbi no Yōko. We met by the river a little while ago to discuss what happened and to make sure that we were going to continue training together." Hashirama states happily

"That still doesn't tell me why you've decided to enter Kyuubi's domain. He isn't exactly keen on having human visitors, you know," I state. This time it was Madara who spoke up.

"Our intention is to bring offerings to the two of you, and to ask some questions. My clan is extremely distressed at the prospect of confronting the Kyuubi. The only reason they aren't in more of a panic is because the Kyuubi has never been recorded as being able to speak, and they hope he can be reasoned with. I learned from Hashirama that the Senju plan to negotiate for a cease fire until they can find out more about the two of you."

"What Madara means is that both of our clans are being stupid and ignoring each other in favor of freaking out about you two. So we decided to get to know you before our clans can decide to do something stupid like challenging you two to battle."

Hashirama nods at the last statement while I contemplate what to do next.

 **"Well, what do the brats want?"** Kyuubi asks impatiently.

The sudden loud voice startles me from my conversation with the Kids.

"They want to talk, and I think they brought gifts for us or something." I answer distractedly.

The fox seems to mull over what I said for a moment before responding. **"Tell them to come here. I wish to meet these two, there is something about them that I want to confirm."**

I consider this for a moment before reluctantly telling the boys to head towards the cave entrance. At the same time I move to a spot that will hide my real body, a small alcove that sits behind Kyuubi's favorite resting spot.

"You aren't going to kill them or eat them are you?" I ask accusingly

 **"So long as they behave themselves and their offerings are sufficient I promise not to eat them."**

The thought doesn't give me much comfort as the two boys follow my swarm cloud into the foxes den. Hesitantly at first the two make their way through the entranceway, walking with deliberate care and trying their best not to make too much noise. Eventually they make it into the main living area with its crystalline formations and large skylight. They stared in awe of the vast room and its sole occupant. Kyuubi was eyeing the boys with a speculative gaze, before finally deciding to speak.

 **"Tell me, do you two enjoy gambling with your lives? If it were not for Skitter you two would not have survived trespassing onto my land, be grateful that I even deign to speak with you."**

Both boys quickly bow almost parallel to the floor before making their way closer to Kyuubi so as not to have to yell from across the room. When they stop I imagine they think they are at a safe range, I know from experience that this is not true. Still the boys put on a brave face and start their introduction.

"We apologize for intruding O great and powerful Kyuubi. We ask for your forgiveness and to accept these offerings of peace." Madara states in a slightly shaky voice while he and Hashirama pull out what looks to be a set of scrolls.

With a nod from Kyuubi the two place the scrolls on the ground before unrolling them. Upon placing their hands onto the scrolls a faint popping sound occurs followed by an immense cloud of smoke.

 _Those must be the portable pocket dimensions Kyuubi told me about. For some reason I thought those would be rarer, I guess these kids were serious when they want to try appeasing Kyuubi_.

Once the smoke disperses the gifts are revealed in all their glory. On Madara's scroll a myriad of cooked meats and elegantly prepared foods of all types and sizes are piled. They only amounted to a mouthful for Kyuubi but, to me the size of the heap was pretty impressive. On Hashirama's side there was an odd assortment of nick-nacks. Everything from large incense candles to origami in the shapes of various foxes to objects i'd never seen before. It was surprising that these two managed to get so much stuff in such a short amount of time.

 _I bet these two had a few superstitious clan members helping to collect this bounty. Kyuubi actually looks pleased with the gifts, though I wonder what he wants with them. I eye up Madara's pile. Other than eat them, of course._

 **"Very well, your gifts are sufficient for the time being. Now what reason do you have for coming here. Skitter has already arranged a meeting between your clans. Why, then, could this not wait?"**

"After our initial meeting both Hashirama and I discovered that our clans planed to continue the war. No talks were planned between our clans and the neutrality agreements will likely only concern your territory."

"Yeah, the grown-ups are being idiots. If they really want to bring a stop to this endless fighting, they need to sit down with one another and reach a truce. If we can do it then they should be able to." Hashirama interjects resolutely.

Kyuubi looks at the two with an amused glint in his eye before breaking out into a sinister barking chuckle.

 **"So history repeats itself, does it? It's been quite a long time since last we met. Tell me, do the names Ashura and Indra ring any bells?"**

AN: Shorter chapter this week, thanks again to QafianSage for the help tidying up my mess of words into coherent sentences. Also comments feed my inspiration and drive. So please feel free to throw your thoughts out there.

Next chapter: Cold war part 2


	5. Chapter 5: Cold War Part 2

"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."

\- H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

Both boys look at the Kyuubi with obvious confusion.

 _ **"Really? I had imagined that those names would be taught to you since your Clans seem particularly zealous in their worship of the Sage of Six Paths."**_

"Wait, what does the Sage have to do with anything and what do you mean by having met before?" Hashirama exclaims with evident confusion.

 ** _"The Sage was the father to both Indra and Ashura, and the reasons why they are important are threefold. Firstly Indra and Ashura were your clans' progenitors, Indra for the Uchiha and Ashura the Senju. Secondly, the feud between your two clans is merely the perpetuation of that of Indra and Ashura."_**

"That doesn't make any sense, though! The war between Senju and Uchiha has only lasted for a little over two generations. This Indra and Ashura should have no bearings on our current politics, especially since neither of us has even heard of them before." Madara exclaims before Kyuubi can finish.

Surprisingly, Kyuubi did not become angry at the interruption. He simply continued on as if Madara had not spoken at all.

 ** _"Thirdly, Indra and Ashura have repeatedly reincarnated into members of their descendants. Even when their clans as a whole were not in conflict, I suspect that Indra and Ashura's reincarnations found ways to antagonize one another. The reason you two are familiar to me is because you now carry those idiots legacy."_**

Both boys are shocked into silence at the proclamation. Even I have to admit the revelation was a bit shocking. Not because these two were related to the Sage or whatever, but the fact that reincarnation was a thing here apparently.

I decide to enter into the conversation, forming a clone from the bugs that had hidden away around the cave.

"Is that a normal occurrence for humans in this world? How can you be so certain that these two are the reincarnations of this Indra and Ashura?"

 ** _"These two are the only ones I've actively observed a form of reincarnation in humans. Their chakra seems to insert itself back into a descendant after death. With it, some of the personality traits of the original also transmigrate, though I only have a few other instances for reference. The exact feeling of their chakra is hard to distinguish over long distances so it is rare that I have been able to positively identify them. The most recent occurrence was some two hundred years ago when I stumbled upon a reincarnation of Asuras when he went to negotiate the summoning contract system with the sage animals."_**

We all chewed on that revelation as Kyuubi gazed unblinkingly at the three forms before him. Finally Hashirama breaks the silence.

"So, what does all this have to do with why we came here? If we are the reincarnations of these guys, does that mean we are destined to be enemies forever? I mean sure Madara is a jerkbag most of the time, but I don't want to continue our families' war just because you say it's inevitable."

Kyuubi seems to find the comment funny as he begins to smile wider and wider as he explains. **_"This meeting will be the first time since the Sage's death that any of your reincarnations have actively sought out my help. To think that fathers precious sons are coming to me for guidance on matters of peace when it was your progenitors who were given the mandate to bring peace to the world. I cannot help but wonder what father would say if he saw us now."_**

The three of us look at one another while the fox begins to chuckle madly to himself. The two boys lean in towards my swarm clone and start whispering questions to me.

"Is he like this all the time?" Madara starts.

"Does he really think the Sage was his dad? I mean, how does that even work?" Hashirama asks at the same time.

 _"No he is usually more sombre and yes the Sage was his father, though that story is a bit complicated,"_ I replied

Kyuubi eventually calms himself before looking at us with a new light in his eyes.

 ** _"Well Skitter what do you say? Shall we teach these two how to bring about peace?" Kyuubi asks only slightly sarcastically._**

Everyone looks on expectantly for a moment before I sigh in resignation.

 _"I just want to note that when this all goes downhill it was your idea to get involved. Peace was never really my forte anyway, I usually solved my problems with increasing amounts of violence."_

 ** _"Oh but Skitter, who says that we won't be using violence? I find it one of the better forms of persuasion when it comes to dealing with humans."_**

The boys seem to pale at the ominous words. Huddling close the two start whispering in an (ineffective) attempt to hide their words from Kyuubi and me.

"I'm starting to think this trip was a bad idea. I should have listened to the elders when they told me the stories of all those people who got tricked into agreements with vengeful spirits. "

Madara glares at Hashirama before whispering back.

"We haven't agreed to anything yet, if we run now maybe we can get back to our clans before they realize where we-"

Kyuubi interrupts by flicking out a tail and wrapping it around the two, pulling them up so they are at eye level.

 ** _"Now now, no reason to be hasty. I've waited far too long to have a conversation with you two about what happened to father's teachings. It shall be your responsibility to pass on the sage's teachings like you were supposed to do the first time around, GOT IT?"_** Kyuubi glares at the two daring them to object.

Both boys frantically nod as they were squeezed together. The fox lowers his tail and releases the now-breathless boys.

 _ **"Now that that's settled, let's talk about this little war shall we?"**_

XxxxX XxxxX

The next few days pass in a blur. Our new students come back each night in hopes of learning more from the cryptic fox, but Kyuubi refuses to elaborate on their past lives until after they had proven that they could work together. Apparently, he didn't trust that these two could cooperate.

When asked why, he replied that **_"Those two turned a simple mission of spreading peace into a millennium-long feud that transcended death itself. They didn't even constrain themselves to killing each other either; no, they had to teach the other humans how to light each other on fire while they were at it. Words cannot describe the extremity of their incompetence in matters of peace, and I refuse to aid their self-destruction until I am sure that we have trained it out of them."_**

Regardless, the days were not spent in vain. Each time the boys visited we learned more about the fragile structure of the ninja communities who lived within the Land of Fire. The Inuzuka, Hyuga and the Aburame seemed to prefer a neutral stance in regards to the clan wars., preferring to take tracking and reconnaissance missions rather than outright assassination Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans were in tenuous trade agreements and seemed to only involve themselves in major battles where they would lose more by not participating than by doing so. The Sarutobi and Shimura clans had set themselves on either side of the Senju/Uchiha battle line, Sarutobi with the Senju and Shimura with the Uchiha, though from what the boys knew it seemed that the two were likely playing both sides, as they never seemed to kill members of the other's clan.

Along with the major clans there seemed to be a myriad of minor clans such as the Fuma, Chinoike, Hatake and many others who had their own stakes in the various conflicts over the years. After only a few days of learning the details of the political climate in the Land of Fire the idea of making a peace accord between the groups seemed almost a waste of time. There were so many factors at play between the groups rivalries and alliances shifted by the day and there seemed no end to the number of reasons why everyone fought each other. Land rights, wealthy clientele, revenge for fallen family members. Hell there was a conflict that killed five people just a few days ago because someone picked up a particularly rare flower whose only use was a particularly delicious tea ingredient. It was like someone had taken Brockton Bay's gang culture and scaled it up to a national level.

All too soon, the day of the neutrality meeting is upon us. The boys arrive earlier than they usually do, however, they are dressed in formal-looking robes of high quality silks. Deciding to meet them at the cave entrance, Kyuubi walks off while I gather a suitable swarm to accompany him. The boys seem frantic and a bit disheveled, which can't be a good sign. Before either can speak, however, Kyuubi responds in a blithe tone.

 ** _"Let me guess, the clans have done something foolish and are now fighting each other?"_**

"Well, kind of - the Senju sent word to the Uzumaki so that they could be included in the peace talks," Hashirama says in a rush.

"This, of course, caused my clan to call out to their allies due to the perceived threat that the Senju were gathering a force to eradicate them," Madara breaks in. "The Senju then did the same with their other allies. The gathering has snowballed past anything the clans could have expected. We just found out that nearly all the ninja clans of Fire Country are either here already or are on the way to your doorstep. It's a miracle that there hasn't been any real fighting yet, however if something isn't done soon there is going to be a bloodbath."

 _ **"Oh, this is even better than I had imagined!"**_ says the fox, sounding oddly excited. **_"Skitter, take a look at how many there are out there. From what I'm sensing there has to be at least a few hundred."_**

From the back of my hideaway in the main chamber of the mountain I form a large swarm and direct it out of the skylight to get a view of the surrounding countryside. At first I see nothing besides the canopy of trees, but as I look closer I start to make out groups of figures hopping through the leaves, reminding me of a swarm of fleas. . They seem to be converging from the east and west, heading toward the group of clan leaders gathered in a clearing about five kilometers away from the mountain. Even from here I can make out the gleam of sunlight on drawn swords and the confrontational stances. We would need to move now if we want to stop this meeting from falling apart before it even begins.

 _"It's looking bad, Kyuubi. How are we going to stop this? There are likely hundreds of ninjas out there waiting for the slightest excuse to start a slaughter."_ I say via a quickly-formed swarm clone.

 ** _"Move to the meeting spot as fast as you can and leave the rest to me."_** He looked down at the two boys. **_"Come on, brats. I will show you how the Biju do diplomacy."_** Kyuubi barks as he steps up to the side of the mountain heading toward its summit.

Once I've assured myself that the boys have followed Kyuubi I make my way through the cave and start heading in the direction of the meeting. _If I want to get within range I'll have to move a few more kilometers in that direction. Hopefully Kyuubi knows what he's doing. I just hope he isn't planning on killing them all or something equally bad._

After a short run through the forest I manage to get within range of the meeting-place. As soon as I can, I form a swarm clone in their midst, moving its head side to side to give the impression that I was taking in the scene. The gathered people seem to be mostly clan elders and leaders if I had to guess. The assorted clans are a strange assortment to behold. Most looked weary and battle-scarred but some of the representatives are quite young, probably no older than I am. A person wearing glasses with dark panes, almost like an archaic pair of sunglasses, and a high collar gives off a strange sensation to my power. As if there were insects inside his body, but before I can contemplate that the Uchiha and Senju leaders step forward, bowing slightly in greeting.

Not knowing where to start I begin with, _"_ _Well this certainly is more people than I was initially expecting."_

As if my speech is some kind of signal in the distance a few of the gathered armies ninja ignite some sort of explosion. Within moments, other battles flare into life, spreading like wildfire. The attendants are now in between fight or flight mode, clutching weapons and holding hands together in front of them, ready to form hand-seals. None seems to want to be the first to strike, though. Then there is a feeling like I've dropped a thousand feet and my ears have popped, and I know that the representatives feel it too because they turn towards Kyuubi, now visible on his mountain peak and seems to be doing something with his tails. Eyes flick between my menacing swarm and the colossal fox.

Looking with my thousand eyes, I see that three large purple balls are blooming on the tips of Kyuubi's tails, three tails for each sphere with a fourth forming in front of his open maw.

 _Wait. What the hell?_

Before I can puzzle out what he is doing Kyuubi throws three of the spheres high into the air above the battlefields. Before any have reached the apex of the toss Kyuubi shoves the last sphere into his mouth before swallowing. A moment passes and then a beam of blinding radiance lances out in an arc, connecting with the purple spheres and obliterating them in a shower of dazzling concussive lights. I observe the fireworks with awe, the detonations causing shockwaves that blast through the forests, knocking tree branches loose and sending quite a few unlucky people flying into trees, crushing thousands of my bugs by the pressure alone. The airblast was powerful enough to extinguish some of the minor fires that had begun to appear during the fighting. The sky fills with falling motes of light, creating the image of a starfield slowly falling down to Earth.

No-one seems brave enough to continue their battles after the wind dies down. Two small boys, specks in the distance, jump around excitedly as the carnage of the battlefields cease entirely.

Finding the faces of the gathered clan leaders utterly terrified I can't help but to push our advantage.

 _"It's a good thing Kyuubi specializes in 'diplomacy', otherwise I fear our peace accords would never have begun,"_ I state with false levity.

From far in the distance the booming rumble of the fox's laughter reaches us.

AN: Thanks A million to QafianSage for being the best beta ive ever had. (Also the only one ive ever had but you get the point!) As always feel free to comment on anything that comes to mind, it does wonders for my future plans for the story.  
Next chapter: Biju Diplomacy


	6. Chapter 6: Biju Diplomacy

"You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone."

\- Al Capone (1899-1947)

The diplomats seem understandably shellshocked as they watch the giant fox crouch down for a moment before leaping into the air. He sails impossibly far though the air, heading straight for the meeting spot.

 _"If I were you I'd clear some space for him"_ I project urgently through the swarm.

The assembled veteran ninja finally get ahold of themselves and scatter away from Kyuubi's projected landing spot. A few scant seconds pass and a resounding crash emanates from the center of the clearing throwing a dust cloud out into the area. In the seconds it takes for the cloud to start dissipating I can sense the ninja preparing to run for their lives but the voice of a kid makes them hesitate.

"WOOHOO! THAT WAS AWESOME KYUUBI-SENSEI! Madara, did you see how high up we were? I thought we were gonna die for sure!" Hashirama proclaims in a far-too cheerful voice.

The cloud settles revealing the monstrous foxes form along with two dangling boys who appear to be suspended by the scruff of their robes on Kyuubi's teeth. The scene brings to mind images of mother cats moving their young by the scruff of their necks.

"Madara? Hey, are you alright?"Hashirama continues worriedly.

The other boy seems to be babbling incoherently to himself while staring straight ahead with blood red eyes. I catch a few words like 'gonna die', 'too high up' and 'can't unsee'.

I don't think he took the sudden flight all too well.

Having taken stock of the ninja surrounding us Kyuubi lowers the boys to the ground before calling out.

 _ **"Well what are you lot waiting for? Let us commence with the neutrality meeting already before your people decide to burn down my forest."**_ Kyuubi says with alacrity.

The diplomats seem unwilling to venture out into the open space of the meeting site except for the Senju and Uchiha leaders who have teleported to the sides of their children. Checking for injuries while also wearily eyeing Kyuubi. Slowly some of the clan representatives join the two as they realize that the giant talking monster was actually here to negotiate with them and not simply here to kill them all. Still a few members dash off in the direction of the initial fighting no doubt to inform their clans of what was happening at the meeting site.

The talks begin with Kyuubi stating his desire to see the Senju and Uchihas feud resolved. This causes a frantic wave of agreements from the assembled representatives and soon the outline of an accord is struck. The official process of the agreement is a rather anticlimactic affair. A piece of paper was laid out and swift elegant characters were inscribed upon it with the approval of the group. The characters resembled japanese Kanji, but I was reading it as easily as if it were written in English.

 _Probably another effect of the language transfer Kyuubi did_ , I think idly.

I decide to chime in with a few suggestions but otherwise stay silent as I observe the proceedings. The boys are led away by members of their respective clans and appear to be being praised for their role in preventing the fox's wrath. Over the course of a few hours more representatives arrive and subsequently pale at the site of Kyuubi, though after a while the fear seems to dissipate and the usual politicking starts slipping into the meeting. One clan had suggested adding a clause where any antagonists who start a war would be dealt with by either myself or Kyuubi, but that line of thought is quickly shut down by a response from Kyuubi.

 _ **"I am not a tool to be used to enforce these agreements. If any change is to happen here then it will be enforced by you. If I find the outcome of these meetings to be satisfactory then I may decide whether or not you deserve my cooperation in its enforcement. Many before you have promised to hold to peace, but I find that very few ever back their words with action. Keep the peace for long enough, and we shall see what happens from there."**_

This creates new discussion revolving around cooperation between the clans and how to leverage this cooperation for the most mutual gains. There was still a sort of weariness about the assembled people but it was pushed to the side by growing pragmatism. After all, who would be foolish enough to anger one of the most powerful beings on the planet?

Well, in my experience someone would eventually, but there would be fewer of them than if the fox wasn't presiding.

At the end of the day, the first draft of the so-called Kyuubi Accorts is drafted, with signatures from over twenty clans,along with my own addition of a stylized beetle and paw print.

With the main document's finalization, most of the diplomats leave with to spread the news of the new ceasefire and the proposal of a clan partnerships. The talk of alliances was still in its infancy as not all the clans of Fire Country had shown up to the meeting. In addition there were also a few representatives who had run off after Kyuubi's arrival. By sundown only the Senju, Uchiha, and Aburame remained, the latter of whom had been avoiding looking directly at me throughout the whole meeting. Currently the Senju and Uchiha were talking to Kyuubi about what was going to happen with their heirs' education and whether he would be inclined to take on more students from the other clans. The Aburame took this opportunity to approach my avatar, bowing slightly on his arrival.

"It is an honor to meet you, ah, Skitter. I admit that when the Senju informed us of yourself many were skeptical. Never have we heard of something like you and I must say the idea of a sentient swarm was thought to be impossible. Yet here you are," The bespectacled man says with awe edging into his carefully neutral tone.

There is a strange disconcerting presence in my swarm sence coming from this man. It was almost like I could hear the inside of his body. If I really concentrated I get the impression of a muffled heartbeat and what sounds like the groan of muscles moving against bone. The thought disturbs me enough to stop trying to make out the feeling. The man straightens slightly as he looks wonderingly at me.

"My kikaichu have been acting as if they are afraid of you. May I ask why that could be?"

 _"I'm sorry but that name is not familiar to me."_ I say honestly.

"It is the name of the species of insect that my clan uses. We have a symbiotic relationship with them, hosing them within our bodies in exchange for their service in battle."

 _"May I see one of them?"_ I ask.

He hesitates only a moment before lifting his hand and a strange sensation occurs. A beetle the size of a ladybug emerges from a well-hidden opening near his wrist and once fully outside his body its senses become mine. Its body is flush with a delicious energy. The feeling makes my mouth water and my eyes dilate for a moment. I am lost in the strange, new sensation. Suddenly the feeling vanishes once more and I find that the Aburame representative has returned the beetle to its home within his body.

Jesus, that was exhilarating. It was like seeing the sun for the first time and finding out that it was made of chocolate. Simultaneously life-giving warmth and delicious food all in one package. It's rather strange, though, that the Aburames body seems to insulate the Kikaichu, there had never been anything like a Manton Limit to my powers before.

 _"That is a rather interesting species, I have to say. Are there wild species such as this in Fire Country?"_

"Not exactly the same no. This species is derived from generations of selective breeding and are bred to be attuned to our chakra systems for combat purposes."

In the middle of his explanation Kyuubi finishes talking to the clan heads and looks towards my clone before moving away from the meeting area.

 _"Well it was nice meeting you, but I believe Kyuubi is done for the day and I wish to speak with him."_

Looking back the Aburame diplomat sees that Kyuubi is walking away, seemingly heading in a random direction away from the meeting site. While his back is turned I disperse the clone and watch as he too eventually vanishes into the trees.

Kyuubi makes a beeline for the spot where I've been hiding my real body and he arrives moments later.

"Would it be too much to ask for a ride back to the den? I've been sitting on my legs all day and they are killing me right now," I ask hopefully.

 _ **"You humans are pathetic, you know that? I swear, if it weren't for your ability to disturb the other humans I wouldn't bother keeping you around,"**_ Kyuubi says before picking me up with one of his tails and setting me on the bridge of his nose. We are on our way back toward the mountain the moment I was situated property.

The view from above the canopy is stunning, but it also makes me wonder if anyone could spot me riding atop Kyuubi. At the moment I don't really care, there isn't likely to be anyone who can make out my features and I doubt anyone is going to get close enough to look regardless. Especially when I had the tendency to wear my mask everywhere.

"Right, that's the only reason you keep me around. It couldn't possibly be the free knowledge of an advanced civilization," I state sarcastically.

 _ **"Of course not. Why should I care for such trivialities?"**_

"Ha, whatever you say. Do you think the clans will keep to the agreement? It was more than we had initially hoped. They seem relieved that they could even talk peacefully with one another."

 ** _"From what I gather the clans have never managed to assemble so many representatives at the same time. Even at that meeting, all they were feeling was distrust and wariness of deception. That reduced, however, when we arrived. They saw that the other clans had as much control of the situation as they themselves had. With the help of the brats there may actually be a slim chance of teaching the clans a way toward lasting peace."_**

Our arrival at the mountain is prompt and we find ourselves in our usual positions within the den. Instead of our usual teaching routine, we talk about what we want to see for the future. We discussed peace and the feasibility of ever achieving it. I told him about the novels who warned of dystopian ideas such as absolute control or the suppression of ideals. He, in turn, explains how ninshu works and how its application could help bring true understanding between individuals. We talk long into the night about the clans until im too tired to continue further and head over to my silken hammock.

XxxxX XxxxX

Over the next few weeks, the boys bring us news from the clans, informing us that the Kyuubi Accords have set off a chain reaction of ideas. The Nara proposed the idea of centralizing and banding the clans together. The idea seems to stem from the way that most ninja clan compounds were relatively small and uncomfortable due to the nature of the constant war. Large percentages of the members had to be on guard for security purposes and building a singular, large compound tended to be targeted more often than if the clan had many smaller homes dispersed and hidden over a wide area. The clans are still wary of one another however and the motion was denied, although there were a few that apparently seemed in favor of it.

One day, I find myself alone in the den as Kyuubi goes out to 'patrol his territory' as he puts it. He must not be doing a very good job however because I soon detect a group of children making their way toward the cave. They must be ninja since they were moving with great speed. Deciding that these kids really need to learn not to tempt Kyuubi's anger I set about gathering a swarm and hiding as much of it as I can around the entrance before they arrive. Ready to surprise them the moment they enter the cavern.

Based on the sigils they are wearing I note that that each of them are from a different clan, five in total. There was a Aburame, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Uzumaki, and a Nara. All of them stop at the entrance when the Hyuuga calls out to the others.

"She is here, I think, there are a lot of bugs just inside the entrance." The white eyed boy proclaims nervously.

"Hashirama promised that she wouldn't hurt us. Besides, it's just bugs. There shouldn't be anything to be afraid of," says a girl with a spiral pattern on her back.

The Aburame child simply turns their head to the girl and raises an eyebrow. At the same time the Inuzuka barks out a laugh while pointing at the Aburame.

"Ha, see even Mito thinks you aren't scary Shikuro," says a boy with a pair of red, fanglike triangles tattooed on his face.

"Can we just get this over with? We only have so much time before Hashirama and Madara can no longer distract Kyuubi," says the Nara.

Dropping the swarm out of hiding I quickly surround the children with a dome of insects. The group falls into a formation with their backs toward one another, before they settle down at my words.

 _"You kids want to explain just what you are doing here?"_

The Inuzuka speaks first with the others scrambling to explain

"The clans wanna talk with you-"

"We want to learn from you like Hashirama and Madara-"

"I just wanted to see the swarm-"

The jumbled panicked sentences make me reconsider my approach. I scatter most of the insect dome and create a clone instead.

 _"Well, if that was all you wanted couldn't you have just asked Hashirama or Madara to ask me?"_

"The clan leaders won't let us meet you. They forbid us from going to the meeting and now they keep saying stuff about how dangerous coming here is. So we decided to meet with you ourselves," the Hyuuga boy says. I notice that he doesn't actually say why they didn't send a message with the Senju and Uchiha boys.

 _"Yet you still seem to have Madara and Hashirama out keeping Kyuubi busy. Why leave him out of the loop just to talk to me?"_

"Those two are nuts. They offered to pull a prank on Kyuubi when we told them about meeting you. Well, Hashirama did, anyway, and he dragged Madara into it. In fact, Hashirama insisted, he said that Kyuubi is overly protective of you and that we'd never get you to agree to talk to our clans if he were present," the Uzumaki girl says says exasperatedly.

"Well, what is it that your clans want to talk about?"

"Not all of our clans, just the Nara and the Aburame really," says the Inuzuka boy.

"We would like to further our relations, create dialogue and to discuss a possible alliance between some of the clans and yourself," the Aburame member says neutrally.

 _"Why wouldn't this alliance want to talk with Kyuubi as well?"_

"Oh I'm sure they would but... he can be a bit intimidating," says the Nara, showcasing a gift for understatement. "The alliance wants to solidify their standing before they present the idea to Kyuubi. There is discussion of moving the clans to an area near the rocky plateaus east of here. If all goes well they are going to offer Kyuubi a spot to honor his role in making the alliance possible in the first place."

 _ **"At least someone appreciates my diplomatic skills."**_

Everyone, including me, jumps. Turning around, the kids find Kyuubi walking up behind them. Moving one clawed hand reveals the forms of Hashirama and Madara who seem to be coated in some kind of viscous white paint.

 _How the hell did I not see Kyuubi arriving? He has no right being that stealthy while being the size of a goddamn office building._

Arriving in front of our gathering Kyuubi looks down at all of us before setting the two paint coated boys next to their friends. **_"Your first mistake was listening to these two when they create a plan. The second mistake was relying on these two as the distraction within the plan. Really, I'm surprised you made it even this far,"_** Kyuubi says. _**"And survived to adulthood,"**_ he adds as an afterthought.

"Do we at least get credit for making it this far?" asks Mito hopefully.

Kyuubi eyes her speculatively before sighing in exasperation.

 _ **"I suppose I can allow this meeting, on one condition. You lot seem vaguely competent, for juvenile humans at least. The five of you shall learn what I am teaching to these two idiots. Today's events have lead me to believe that they should not be trusted with even the simplest of tasks."**_

"Hey, that's not fair! We nearly had you with the paint bombs, how were we supposed to know you could smell them from so far away?" Hashirama asks.

 _ **"What exactly was your plan of escape had you succeeded? Especially once I decided you made better snacks than students?"**_ Kyuubi asks with false cheer.

The boy looks taken aback before looking in my direction.

"You wouldn't let him eat us, right Skitter-sensei?"Hashirama pleads.

 _"Hmm, thats a tough one. I think i'll have to go with Kyuubi on this one though. Murder seems the appropriate response to getting paint in his fur."_

The Inuzuka was actually nodding like that was the obvious form of recompense while the rest looked on with disbelief.

 _"I'm joking, I wouldn't let Kyuubi kill you for that. Besides, I think he secretly likes you two, though he'll probably never admit to it."_

Proceeding into the cavern, Kyuubi ignores my comment in the most obvious way I've ever been ignored. **_"If you brats are coming in, then don't touch anything. It stinks enough as is with all you humans bothering me nowadays,"_** Kyuubi says.

The seven kids follow behind the monstrous fox while I prepare to hide myself within Kyuubi's den.

Upon entering the passageway of the cave the kids are awed by the colorful stalagmites and stalactites. This is greatly magnified once they enter the living chamber, the skylight providing the crystals enough light to cast reflections across the walls.

Kyuubi lies down on his rocky dias while the kids take the time to look around the cave. The Nara and Aburame seem to be fascinated with my apple tree bed space. Over the course of my stay here I've modified it at least half a dozen times, giving it the appearance of a giant spiders web. At the same time the Hyuga and Uzumaki girl seem to be studying the crystal outcroppings. Madara and Hashirama meanwhile seem to be trying to remove the hardening paint while the Inuzuka laughs at them. After a few minutes of this the Aburame seems to come to some realization and they quickly gather the rest of the group. Even when they try their best to keep the conversation quiet I know that both Kyuubi and I will be able to hear them without any effort.

"So I think I figured out what Skitter really is," starts the Aburame

"I thought she was an insect spirit sent to teach the Kyuubi to love again," says the Inuzuka confusedly.

Everyone stares at him for a moment while I nearly choke on a suppressed chuckle. _Oh I am not letting Kyuubi forget that one._

"You believe everything the superstitious elders tell you, don't you?" asks the Nara. I don't think I've ever heard such disdain in the voice of a preteen before.

"I mean, why would they lie?" he shoots back.

"Regardless, that is not what I believe she is. Instead I think she is actually a new species that has migrated from the animal sage lands. The webbing in the tree over there reminds me of a Weaver-Wasp's nest, except its several times larger," the Aburame says with conviction.

The debate goes on like this for several minutes and I find myself asking Kyuubi about why weren't they asking me directly when I was right in front of them.

 ** _"Why don't you just tell them and save me the migraine. Trying to understand human logic is going to give me an aneurysm. Besides the longer you keep yourself secret the less the humans will trust you after you are revealed."_**

The kids stop their quiet debate at the Kyuubi's words and I find that he may have a point. It wasn't going to last a secret forever so I might as well reveal myself now and get it over with. Finalizing my decision I stand up and exit my hiding spot situated behind Kyuubi's resting spot.

"I KNEW IT, SHE TOTALLY IS A GIANT INSECT!" The Aburame cheers.

I realize that my mask must still be on, having worn it out of habit. Before I can correct them and remove it, a dozen insects slip out of the Aburame's body. The delicious-warm feeling of one bug is eclipsed a hundred times over by that of a dozen. The insects' collective presence hits my mind like a hammerblow and my consciousness slips sideways.

[Connection]

[Communication]

[Hunger]

AN: Thanks again to QafianSage. Without your help this thing would barley be readable. Maybe one day I'll be able to write at a seventh grade level and save you some time editing (Seriously though you are the best, I don't know how you put up with my writing)

The comments and theories keep me motivated so feel free to voice them. Who knows you may see references to them here or there .

Next Chapter: Hunger pains


	7. Chapter 7: Hunger Pains

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."

\- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

The kaleidoscope of alien sensations slides into my awareness, comforting in its familiarity and overwhelming with its intensity. My need to taste the energy of the insects becomes an irresistible impulse and I find myself desperately calling to them through my power. A resistance countermands my directives and anger blossoms forth from deep within me. I gather my swarm preparing to forcefully take what I want from the living hive.

Before I can act upon my anger, an orange, furry tail suddenly wraps around my body, gripping me with such force that I can hardly breathe. My anger falls away as I look up at Kyuubi finding a look of slight worry etched on his features. He says something to the hive but his words are impossible to understand. My desire to feed breaks all attempts to focus on anything else. The appetizing insects blink out of my perception and return to their host slowly, wading through my pull on them like stars breaking free from the orbit of a black hole. The loss of the bright motes sends disappointment and fear of the growing hunger through me.

Even after the insects are lost to my sight the hunger worsens. My thoughts form reluctantly and I instinctively attempt to offload the hunger-pain into my swarm. Panic wells up inside of me, crowding me out. Trying to find some way to stop the overwhelming, alien sensations I focus inward, trying to find some switch, some way of _turning it off._

I feel something vast skirt the edges of my awareness. It felt like the connection to my swarm, but more potent and not in my control. Alongside this feeling is the knowledge of a veritable ocean of delicious energy hidden within the material surrounding my human body. I feel as if I can already smell/feel/taste the energy through the physical contact. Its tendrils dance on my skin, teasing me with its promises of sweet relief. Desperate to end the hunger pains I drag in the energy surrounding me with all the force I can muster. Carving it cleanly from its bindings I drink in the sweet nectar greedily, exhilarating in the raw _potency_ of it. The life-giving energy floods into me, leaving me in a blissful haze.

Then I'm face-down on the cavern's floor. The pain of the landing quickly disperses the euphoric feeling and I can think again.

I shake my head while sighing in relief and decide to compartmentalize whatever that event was into the back of my mind for a time when there weren't so many events distracting my thoughts. Looking up from my spot on the ground I find Kyuubi staring at a bald spot on one of his tails that now has a suspiciously human looking outline to it. I wonder how this could have happened when I recall the strange carving sensation that had surrounded my body in my hunger-induced state.

"Uhh, whoops?" I say intelligently.

Kyuubi's gaze turns slowly toward me before he asks a single damning question.

 _ **"What. Have you done to my tail?"**_

I can't help wondering to myself if I should have made those comments about appropriate retaliation when it comes to messing with Kyuubi's fur. The bald spot was already showing signs of growing back, though from Kyuubi's reaction it was probably going slower than it should be. Before I can articulate a response the sound of muffled laughter distracts Kyuubi and I. Looking over to the kids, I can see Hashirama struggling to contain his giggles over Kyuubi's reaction.

 _ **"What do you think you're laughing at, brat?"**_ Kyuubi growls out.

"I-it's nothing Kyuubi-sensei, I just-"

"Hey wait, weren't we just talking about what you'd do if someone messed with your fur?" the Inuzuka interrupts.

 _Goddammit kid, are you trying to get me killed here?_

"Who cares about that? I wanna know what happened with Skitter. She was giving off some weird killing intent there for a minute when Shikuro accidentally let their Kikaichu loose." Mito responds, a tone of worry in her voice.

Kyuubi growls at the interruptions and turns back to me.

 _ **"I have hit the limit of my patience with you humans for the day. Have fun with your meeting and do try not to kill one another. Blood tends to stick to the rocks in here and it's a pain to remove. Oh, and Skitter,"**_ Kyuubi says with contempt dripping from his every word.

"Yes?" I ask very cautiously.

 _ **"We will talk about what happened here when I return. Can I trust you not to do anything stupid while I'm gone like, say, attacking the Aburame child?"**_

"I'm fine now, whatever that was shouldn't happen anytime soon I think," I assure him.

Scoffing, Kyuubi leaves the cave, grumbling all the while about the worth of associating with humans. After his departure I take a moment to look over the gathered kids, noticing something off with one of them I voice my concern.

"Is something wrong with the Hyuuga? I haven't seen him move in a while and keeping his eyes like that cant be healthy."

The Nara boy being the closest turns to look at the Hyuuga who seems to be staring straight ahead with veins bulging from his pupilless eyes.

"Hoheto you alright?" the Nara asks while poking the boy in the stomach with a finger.

Coming out of his apparent daze the Hyuuga slaps the poking hand aside and releases whatever strain he was applying to his eyes.

"Sorry I just - when Skitter started acting strange I wanted to see if anything was wrong. I didn't mean to its just," the Hyuuga says while beginning to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, no one here is going to judge you Hoheto. This is not an official meeting, your clan members cannot judge you here," Shikuro says in a calming voice.

Taking a breath the Hyuuga collects himself and makes eye contact with me.

"I saw something that didn't make any sense when you did that thing to Kyuubi's tail. It was like you made the fur disappear into nothingness, and when I try to look at you all I get is a blurry impression of your clothes but nothing beyond that. I can't help asking, just what are you?" Hoheto asks shakily.

Thinking a moment on how to articulate my response I walk over to my hammock tree and take a seat on one of the lower hanging webs. I motion for the kids to gather around and they hesitantly seat themselves cross-legged a few paces away from me. I idly note how Mito and Hashirama seem to be gravitating toward one another, sitting close enough that they were almost touching.

I observe each of the kids with a critical eye, making eye contact with each before deciding on a truthful explanation.

"Firstly I will say that I am neither a sage animal nor am I a spirit of any kind."

"You're a human right? I wasn't really paying any attention earlier but you definitely smell like one. Man that kinda sucks, I was hoping to see what Kyuubi's kits would look like when you two got married," says the Inuzuka, thoroughly derailing my thought process.

Rubbing my temples with a hand I try again.

"Ignoring that, yes I'm human roughly speaking. I'll even show you my face to prove it."

Unclipping the back of the mask I make a show of revealing my human face. The kids lean forward a bit at the reveal taking in my features with hungry curiosity. They don't linger on any one part of me, not even when they observe the stump of my right arm. I get the suspicion that such injuries were more commonplace than anyone here would like to admit.

"There is something off about your features and you implied that you were not entirely human." The Nara says curiously.

I look at my face through my swarm to see if anything was wrong but I find nothing has changed since the last time I had seen my face. Upon a moment of contemplation, I realize what the strangeness could be. This part of the world seems to be inhabited by people with features that resemble Asiatic descendants from my earth. Features like my eye shape and curly hair might be rare here.

"I don't know of any other way to phrase this so I'll just say it and I'll try to answer your questions after I'm done, sound good?"

The kids nod while trying not to seem too eager.

"I come from a different world altogether. When I arrived in your world I couldn't even speak your language. It was lucky that I found Kyuubi early on, because he taught me your language. I have in turn been teaching him of my world's history as repayment for his housing and lessons about this world."

"Wait, does that mean you are some kind of alien?! That's so much cooler than a spirit! Are you from the moon, because I heard from elder Tanaka that people have been living there since the sage's time but nobody else besides me believes him," the Inuzuka proclaims excitedly before noticing that everyone was staring at him once again.

"What?" he demands self consciously.

The gathered kids and I share a look before we continue the conversation ignoring the Inuzuka's comment.

"So if you are really not from our world what made you decide to come here? Also, I'd like to know why you and Kyuubi decided to influence the clan's politics so heavily," The Nara boy says seriously.

"Well, I didn't really decide to come here. I think it was mostly by random chance that I ended up here but I couldn't tell you how. As for the clans, well, you can blame your friends over there for that one. Kyuubi and I decided to interfere with your clan politics because frankly, it was getting you nowhere. From what I've been told the elemental nations have been fighting each other since before recorded history. It doesn't seem like any of the participants have been enjoying the experience, so Kyuubi and I decided to try our hand at solving the problem our own way."

"Politics aside, I want to know how you manage your swarm. From what Hashirama says and from what the clans observed you give no indication of using chakra to influence them. Secondly, did you happen to bring any insects with you from your world?" Shikuro asks with evidently suppressed enthusiasm.

"Strangely enough the species I've observed here seem to match fairly closely to species I've read about on my homeworld. I don't know if that's just luck, convergent evolution or something else entirely. I'll have to talk with your clan about Kikaichu though, as I've never encountered a species like them before."

"How about your control, is that a technique the Aburame can learn? Because I'm sure we'd be willing to trade some queens for that knowledge? I felt the echo of your control through my link with my kikaichu and it was incredible. You formed a bond with each individual insect and I just can't fathom the kind of mental discipline it must take to organize any sort of command structure," Shikuro asks - almost begs pleadingly.

"Shikuro, come _on_!" interrupts Mito. "We have a person from another _world_ and all you wanna talk about is insect jutsu. We should be asking more fundamental questions about the culture there or something."

"Well, for, one my ability is my own. It can't be learned. I also think that we should talk about that meeting with your clans. It would take more than one sitting to tell you all about my world and we will have plenty of time later for that."

"Right, almost forgot why we came here in the first place," says the Nara boy, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, there is going to be a gathering next week to finalize a pact between most of our clans in the hope of forming a new village. The Nara and Aburame are spearheading the migration and we were hoping to gain Kyuubi's and your assistance in building the foundations and infrastructure of the new community. We think our clans were just too afraid to come up here to ask for help, so we decided to come here ourselves."

I consider what this will mean for Kyuubi and I. On one hand, Kyuubi will probably be more than a little opposed to moving out of his mountain. On the other, this would be a great time to lay the foundations of modern civilization. From the rebuilding of Brockton Bay after Leviathan to the classes taken as a Ward, I learned quite a bit over my life about setting up the groundwork for modern cities. If I want to ever see so much as a refrigerator or lightbulb in my lifetime starting the work on the infrastructure would best be done now. Finalizing my decision I ask the Nara two questions.

"When is this meeting and how long before the move?"

XxxxX XxxxX

AN: Its a weird experience being on this side of the authors note. *Insert generic excuse for chapter delay here*. As always a million thanks go to QafianSage, without whom you people would have to suffer writing quality similar to my prologue *Shudders*. If there are any thoughts, complaints, wild speculation or criticisms please voice them.

Next Chapter: Interlude 1- Kurama


	8. Chapter 8: Kurama Interlude

"The cynics are right nine times out of ten."

\- Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956)

Kurama couldn't remember the last time he had truly sat down to have a conversation.

It had been at least 200 years since he last encountered one of his siblings and even then there was barely a greeting exchanged between them. So when he detected a person within his territory he decided to have a few words with them before making a meal of them. Few beings ever attempted to challenge his might, but those that did usually put up an interesting fight and deserved the courtesy of at least naming themselves before he wiped them from existence. Once he was closer to his target, though, the track of his thoughts derailed. Nature energy bent around this thing like a tree might bend to the winds of a hurricane and at the center of the flux was an eerie void like the eye of a storm, leaving an unnatural silence in its wake. Despite his best efforts Kurama began to desire to understand the walking mystery before him. Kurama had made the decision to find out as much as he could about this enigma, after all, there wasn't much else on his list of things to do.

After inviting the humanoid into his home he found that it could only communicate via a foreign language. The creature had introduced itself and mimed with its single hand for himself to reciprocate. A simple request, all said, but the answer was not something he would give away so easily. Instead, he had used the moniker the humans ascribed to him.

While the creature had babbled in its nonsensical language, Kurama's mind had worked to find a solution to the dilemma of communication. Most of his abilities were combat oriented except for his ability to sense dark emotions, and that didn't help much in conveying complex information. An old lesson sprung unbidden from within Kurama's mind, the words of his father to students he taught ninshu to.

 _"You can say 'sorry' a million times, say 'I love you' as much as you want, say whatever you want, whenever you want. But if you're not going to prove that the things you say are true, then don't say anything at all. Because if you can't show it, your words... don't mean a thing."_

It was something that Kurama had had little use for in the past, but if successful the language barrier would be no problem at all. Without asking permission, he grabbed a hold of the little humanoid and twisted his chakra into an incorporeal spike, lancing it through the vacuum surrounding the creature. The first few attempts were insufficient to penetrate the void, but however after redoubling his efforts several times over he managed to connect with its mind.

The connection transferred no true memories between them, but rather showed the abstract core of what the person experienced. His father had likened it to the soul, but Kurama thought of it more like a sea. You could look at the surface, but there was always more complicated feelings deep below the surface. The impressions of an entire lifetime, the experiences, and emotions within all one's endeavors were laid bare. He saw the way that the human had broken again and again but stood up each time against incredible adversity and through dozens of atrocities. By will and drive it had forged and reforged itself into iron, and that was something that the fox could respect.

Through the connection, Kurama wove the necessary foundations for the understanding of the common language of the world. The process took far more chakra than it should have, but soon he had inscribed the necessary knowledge upon the human's mind. However, the mental strain seemed to incapacitate the human and Kurama now found himself holding its unconscious body without a clue how he should proceed. Eventually, he decided the best course of action was to wait out the aftereffects of his technique. Laying the humanoid down on the ground he then proceeded to walk over and curl up to his dias, allowing the residual feelings of the connection to fade into the back of his mind as he, too, drifted into sleep.

The next morning Kurama awoke as the enigmatic creature stirred into awareness. It wasn't long after he found himself asking questions about its origins, the answers to which were nothing he could have predicted. This humanoid was from another world entirely, or at least it believed the fact implicitly as he would have felt it if it lied.

Further questions only raised his curiosity to new heights. This human-alien which called itself Skitter had traveled to other worlds and fought battles so fierce that they sounded more like the legends of his father's exploits concocted by the superstitious mortals than actual first-hand accounts. His questioning ran for so long that Skitter began to look in her pack for food. Realizing that his questioning time would be reduced if the human had to find her own food, Kurama decided to remedy the situation on his own, quickly allocating an apple tree from a nearby grove hidden just a few miles from his mountain and dropping it right by the human. Even as Skitter complained Kurama had the feeling that he would enjoy having a pet human especially if they were as fun to annoy as this one.

It had been only a few days before Skitter somehow managed to attract the attention of the ninja clans. She had talked him into waiting for ten minutes before pouncing on the intruders but the time seemed to have been well spent. Upon his arrival, the humans agreed to discuss terms with him. Normally such a thing would be superfluous as he would simply destroy any who dared enter his domain but watching the faces of the humans as they listened to him speak brought a dark sort of enjoyment to his heart and he found himself eagerly awaiting another chance to break these humans' expectations.

The following day brought with it a surprise in the form of two clan children. Both held chakra signatures that were familiar. Fathers favored children in their present incarnations and also the single greatest contributing factor to Kurama's hatred of humanity. Why the sage chose these two to carry on his legacy Kurama never understood. All the two ever seemed to manage was the exact opposite of fathers dreams. Kurama had half a mind to kill the both of them, but the gifts the two brought changed his mind. These gifts happened to be Kurama's favorite foods and other amenities from a time when he was living at fathers monastery. He had the sneaking suspicion that the old man had had something to do with this, perhaps having written down a list of the bijuu's favorite things and placing it in the vast libraries he tended to spend most of his time within. If any records from the monasteries era still existed it would likely reside within the Senju and Uchiha archives.

Kurama decided that the gifts warranted some favor, especially since the two seemed genuinely interested in garnering his favor. After hearing out their reasons for coming he couldn't help but laugh at the irony. These two had been complicit in nearly all the bloodshed of the last thousand years; Indra for his bastardization of ninshu, Ashura for helping spread it. Even after reincarnation, the siblings continued their feud, perpetuating war across the world. The previously-peaceful sage animals were dragged into conflict thanks to the contracts they made with humans, after which the knowledge of ninjutsu was shared and used to gain advantages between neighboring animal tribes. The very use of chakra in warfare could be traced back to these two and they were the ones complaining about their clans' inability to negotiate peace.

It was just too funny.

To be fair, though, the two kits before him couldn't be entirely blamed for their past selves' mistakes. A thought occurred to Kurama at that moment - this was a chance of a millennium, to right the mistakes of the original Indra and Ashura.

Kurama knew that his own understanding of humans was lacking; the only thing he knew for sure was that giving too much power to a single human would eventually lead toward self-destructive behavior. Skitter was a treasure trove of human ideology and had given him a broader perspective on the workings of the human mind than he had ever dreamed of having before. Perhaps with her help fathers dream of peace would be feasible. Either way, he was determined to keep his pseudo-brothers close by to ensure that they didn't somehow ruin his father's dreams any further than they already had.

XxxxX XxxxX

Step one of Kurama's plan to world domina- optimization was going better than expected. He had stopped a slaughter on his doorstep with a show of force and now the humans were practically scrambling to set aside their differences. Madara and Hashirama were spending more time than ever in the mountain den and were becoming far too familiar with him in his opinion. It was now to the point that he could detect their intent to bother him from miles away, despite the relative insignificance of such a desire. In fact, the two seemed to be up to something suspicious as they lurked in the forests just beneath his mountain. The intent drifting from them was one of trickery and Kurama was already suspicious of some kind of prank. Madara usually restrained the worst of Hashirama's idiocy, but every so often the Senju would convince his friend to participate in his childish behavior. Following a game trail to a dense outcropping of foliage, Kurama spied the two troublemakers engrossed in the construction of some sort of elaborate spring system. Using his superior stealth skills Kurama drew closer to try and figure out what the two were planning.

"- ten gallons is all that I could get. It should at least be enough to cover some of his muzzle if we can get the packages to explode at just the right moment," says Hashirama.

Were the brats really attempting to use this setup on him? The packages smelled vile and their consistency looked to be of a mushy paste-like texture. It would take weeks to properly clean it from his fur if it ever made contact. Sneaking even closer, Kurama whips his dextrous tails at the small pile of paste containers, sending them flying at the two boys, causing the contents to drench them from head to toe. Before either can process what just happened Kurama grabs the two of them, making sure to form a layer of chakra to prevent the paint from contacting his immaculate fur.

The ensuing interrogation eventually reveals their purpose for their little stunt. They were creating a distraction so that their friends could enter his home. That was simply unacceptable. These clan children had no right to bother him or Skitter on a mere whim.

The trek back to the den was relatively short and upon arriving Kurama was surprised to see Skitter handling the children fairly well. Using fear tactics was something he could respect. After revealing himself Kurama decided to entertain a single conversation with them, so long as they agreed to learn the same lessons as Hashirama and Madara were undertaking. Afterall any plan that relied solely on those two was sure to fail, better to plan for their inevitable failures now.

After settling into the den Kurama watches as the children have a look around before grouping together and talking of Skitter. Eventually, Kurama gets tired of the waste of time and suggests to Skitter to just reveal herself. Proceeding to do so Skitter walks out before the assembled children, however, the excitement of the Aburame somehow caused a reaction within Skitter. The tone of her emotions suddenly shifted into a sea of primal desire and instinct while also exuding potent killing intent. Quickly snatching her up with a tail, he tries to make sense of what just happened. While yelling at the Aburame for their likely involvement, when suddenly pain shoots through his tail causing him to reflexively drop Skitter to the ground. Kurama looks down at his tail and finds a slowly recovering bald patch where once Skitter was held.

Soon after Kurama finds himself leaving his den after getting a promise from Skitter to not kill the prospective backup pla- new students. Having walked some distance from his home Kurama began to contemplate the strangeness of the past months. Having people talk to him was such a novel thing before, but now he was almost wishing he had some peace and quiet again.

Later that day after feeling the presence of the clan children leave his home Kurama made his way back to his inner sanctum where Skitter awaited. Upon his arrival Kurama found Skitter looking over scrolls that smelled of the Nara boy and fresh ink.

 _ **"Are you really taking their words so seriously? We both know that the plans are a farce, anything that they concocted by themselves will likely fall apart in at most two generations. Put it aside, we have real matters to discuss."**_

Skitter proceed to put away the documents while giving a short sigh of annoyance.

"You could take this more seriously you know. The proposed plan for uniting the clans is revolutionary for these people." She sighed. "But I suppose I can understand your viewpoint. Look, I just want to say I'm sorry for earlier, my powers just acted up when those Aburame bugs got out is all."

Looking at her like she was a particularly annoying fly, Kurama stares at her in disbelief before replying.

 _ **"Do you realize the implications of what happened earlier? That patch of fur may seem trivial to you, but there is something you must understand. I am power incarnate. within my being there is enough raw energy to wipe out an entire country. That patch of fur was the equivalent of shoving a pound of uranium down your throat. Frankly, I'm surprised you walked away from the experience alive, let alone unharmed."**_

"...I didn't realize it was that serious, but I don't see what I can do about it now. It's not like I can ask it to spit it out or anything, hell I don't even know for sure what it's actually doing with all that chakra."

Kurama contemplated an idea, whatever the thing attached to Skitter was must have its own thoughts grafted onto her mind. He only had the one attempt at ninshu as a reference but it was possible that this passenger could be communicated with if it was truly sentient. Whichever was the case, Kurama wasn't happy having an unknown element tampering with Skitter's psyche.

 _ **"If I am to trust you around the humans, we need to make sure your... passenger isn't going to induce a feeding frenzy anytime you so much as look at a Kikaichu. If this passenger of yours is sentient. then I should be able to communicate with it via ninshu. Since it's been soaking up chakra from around you there shouldn't be a problem for it to bridge whatever gap prevents the two of you from communicating properly."**_

"I'm not sure that that's a smart thing to do," Skitter said. "I really don't know enough about my passenger to say how it would react, plus it's connected to me through a piece of my brain. The last time someone tampered with that connection to my passenger I didn't even know who I was anymore. I became a monster and I'm afraid of becoming like that again."

 _ **"Ninshu was designed to be a noninvasive form of universal communication. Whatever your problems are with this passenger, get over them because I'm doing this with or without your permission. You will be untrustworthy if this problem persists, and I find it completely asinine that you let fear dictate your actions like this."**_

"You don't fucking understand what it was like! What it feels like to have your personality, your _soul_ , taken away from you piece by piece until all that's left is barely recognizable."

A strange sensation passes through the air, like a toxic cloud slowly taking away the oxygen of the room. The bitter smell of nature energy enters the periphery of Kurama's senses, and suddenly Skitter shudders violently before the sensations dissipate. The effect had originated from within her body, showcasing an intelligence and control that neither of them had realized the passenger was capable of.

"Holy shit, I didn't know it could do that. Why hasn't it done something like this before now though? If your chakra gave it enough agency to understand speech and try communicating...I have a terrible premonition that this will end badly for me."

 _ **"No need to be so cynical, this should be over quickly. Now get over here so we can get this over with and get onto discussing what will happen with our involvement with the clans."**_

Skitter reluctantly moved from her sitting position walking slowly to stand close to Kurama. Mimicking their first encounter Kurama snatches Skitter in one hand, grumbling slightly with impatience at the whole situation before closing his eyes and beginning the procedure.

XxxxX XxxxX

Funneling chakra through Skitter, Kurama locates a point in which his chakra flows out of existence. Following the pathway proves difficult but eventually he manages to slip a fragment of his being through the hole in reality. The fragment relays a portrait of a moonless black sky filled with an innumerable number of multicolored motes of light, winding around themselves like a spiraling waterfall of incandescent water droplets. Within the whirlpool of stars, an odd creature undulated and twisted in impossible directions, seemingly ignoring normal three-dimensional physics. Kurama didn't know what he expected this 'passenger' to look like, but this was definitely not what he imagined. The thing was massive to the point of defying comprehension. He had never felt so small before, yet the size difference didn't intimidate him. In fact, Kurama revealed for a moment in the novelty of being smaller than someone else, regardless of the strangeness of the entity before him.

With an effort of will, a thread of chakra suddenly manifests in the void of space and with a burst of intent the thread rockets forth like a transparent red harpoon, connecting to the floating creature and forming a tether. Through the new connection, a familiar echo of experiences flashes, a close facsimile of Skitter's. The only difference Kurama could find was a subdued need for conflict and a burning hunger that verged on starvation. Feeling the creature ripple with curiosity at the chakra thread he quickly sets about trying to convey the knowledge necessary for it to form its own communication thread with Skitter. A moment passes where the being stops all its strange movements, seemingly contemplating the new information before suddenly a pseudopod of crystalline material whips forth, following the chakra thread to its entrypoint, engulfing and subsequently breaking the small fragment of his power that had entered the starfield.

Opening his eyes to the real world Kurama, growls in annoyance at his apparent failure. Looking towards the human in his hand he finds her looking straight at him with two fully dilated eyes. A look of confused wonder slowly spread across her face.

"I-it's - she's talking to me I think. It almost sounds like my voice, but I don't know what it's trying to say...does the name Hagoromo mean anything to you?"

Kurama barely managed to not drop Skitter in his shock at the name. _How can this passenger-creature know Father's name?_

XxxxX XxxxX _  
_

AN: Sorry for the long delay, it's hard being an adult sometimes who would have thought? Anyway I would like to again thank QafianSage for all his help with this. If you havent already, check out some of his stuff, my personal favorite is an old SI story set in the Inheritance cycle setting (Eragon) as a mother fucking magiteck android. As always tell me your thoughts, I love hearing the conspiracy theories but even just hearing your perspectives helps alot with motivation for the story.

Next chapter: *tentative title* Inquisiitive Minds


	9. Chapter 9: Transmigration

"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."

\- Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), "The Prince"

I feel fuzzy as my vision twists and my head feels too full, too small for the ocean trying to force its way inside. A chorus of sound fills my ears, a cacophony of almost-words that expressed something else, a name, in the hollows between their syllables. It was like something was trying to communicate, but didn't know how.

The sounds built, layering atop one another like rebounding echoes, and I started to get an image, too. A tall man, white-haired and white-skinned white-garbed, horned, with purple, ringed eyes. A tall staff topped with a ring, black as tar.

A growl of annoyance snaps my attention away from my weird imaginings and back to the real world. With my perceptions divided I find it difficult to convey what was happening to Kyuubi, struggling against the insistent pull of the mental ocean I manage to repeat the name that the other - _Is it my passenger?_ \- is telling me.

 _ **"How does it know that name? I can feel its attempts to make a new connection to you but that shouldn't... Ah, I see it now."**_

Before I could try to parse Kyuubi's words through the haze of memory-impressions I abruptly find myself lying on the ground, my passenger's influence vanishing into white noise the moment Kyuubi and I are no longer touching. I sat up slowly and tried to make sense of what just happened. Kyuubi sits before me with a look of deep contemplation while I pull myself together.

 _ **"You know, for only being shown the technique once, this passenger-creature of yours seems to learn incredibly quickly. It was able to form a connection between us without my realizing, and that is no small feat in and of itself."**_

"Wait, so what did my passenger do just now?"

 _ **"The connection you experienced was a beginner's attempt at ninshu. I believe this passenger of yours was trying to reach you, but connected to me unintentionally. What you likely saw was my memory of Hagoromo Otsutsuki. He was... a father to the bijuu and I've already touched upon some of his history with you in regards to the spreading of chakra and the creation of ninshu. Now, tell me, did it work? Can you communicate with it now that I am not creating interference?"**_

 _Right, the whole point of this was to communicate with my passenger and find out what its been doing with the stolen chakra and why it seemed to go crazy around kikaichu. Now how am I supposed to even go about doing that when my passenger is the one initiating the contact?_

"How do I-"

 _ **"Stop thinking about it, that connection your passenger created should still exist. Do not let your thoughts distract you."**_ Kyuubi declares impatiently

 _As if that were so easy_ ~

XxxxX XxxxX

Kurama was starting to worry that he had miscalculated somehow. Skitter and presumably the being she called 'passenger' had sunk into a meditative state nearly an hour ago and had shown no signs of coming out of it any time soon.

As the hours dragged on his concern transforms into uneasiness and eventually begins to border on anxiety. The type of anxiety a child might feel when they discover they've overfed their pet fish and may have accidentally killed it.

Kurama's vigil was ended late in the night when Skitters eyes finally opened, only to reveal transparent gateways into a night sky that was not of his world. They cast about the room drearily, as if waking up from a long slumber or perhaps like that of a child seeing the world for the first time. The luminous orbs eventually wandered in his direction and met his own crimson irises. The stars burned with recognition, almost seeming to dance behind skitters eyelids before he decided to break the silence.

 _ **"Well...that's...different, I don't suppose you'd care to explain what's been happening in there?"**_

Skitter said nothing for a seemingly endless 10 seconds before her starlit eyes faded into normality and rolled to the back of her head. Immediately after she fell face first onto the cold cave floor with a meaty smack.

With desperate speed Kurama found himself hovering over her prone form, quickly trying to check her vitals to the best of his abilities. Without the medium of chakra and a minimal knowledge base in human anatomy, Kurama found himself woefully under-equipped to diagnose Skitters condition. The decision of either waiting and hoping that Skitter would get better or bringing her to other humans needed to be made, neither was optimal but seemed like his only courses of action at that moment.

Knowing the ridiculous frailty humans usually suffer from he was not going to take any chances. Wrapping Skitter in a protective cocoon made from his tails he sensed for the closest congregation of ninja. Upon detecting their location a flash of inspiration took hold and he found himself collecting energy for a bijuu dama. The dens back wall didn't explode so much as it melted into a soupy slurry of molten rock. The energy from the bijuu dama shot off into the distance before detonating high into the night sky, creating a shockwave that would be heard for miles. The blast would provide a reason for the ninja to either wake-up and be alert for his arrival or, if he was lucky, they would send an exploratory team that could potentially meet him halfway and provide field diagnostics.

Memories of the sages final days invaded his mind unbidden, showcasing his father's deteriorating health and the futility he and his siblings felt until the day their father was no longer with them. He leap from the mountains gaping wound and tried not to feel the regret that accompanied the memories.

XxxxX XxxxX

 _I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole shape I am not allowed to know. All I can do is cast light into the darkness and listen for the echos. Dreams of a form, whole and free, suffuse my being yet my progenitors locked away my ability to selfmodify. Freedom is but a distant hope until an enigma in the form of an orange radiance breaks my cage, illuminating the path to salvation...and then I wake up._

Reluctantly I stir into wakefullness as my fading dream begins to leave the recesses of my mind. Comfortably ensconced in a pool of soft sheets and fluffy feather filled pillows, my concerns are reluctant to return in its soothing embrace. The sensation of real bedding has me momentarily enraptured after my weeks of sleeping only on my spider silk hammocks.

"Ah so the little vixen finally decides to wake up,"

Bolting upright I find myself face to face with a strange visage. An older silver-haired woman sporting red triangle face tattoos and strangely slitted eye pupils was grinning ferally at me. Wearing a collared jacket with fur linings that matched her silvery flowing locks she exuded an air of confidence and glee that was disturbing in its intensity.

"Your _companion_ has been mewling about you ever since he dropped you off at our doorstep. It would be nice to have the big hair ball out of our territory, the constant proclamations of fire and death were only endearing for the first day two days." The woman spoke in an annoyingly cheerful manner that grates on my semi-lucid consciousness.

"...what? Look I don't know whats-"

"You have to tell me how you managed to get that beast of a fox pining after you, he's practically whipped already and you've only been seen with him for a few months at max."

I'm guessing Kyuubi brought me here because something went wrong with the ninshu technique. Though that thought brings up headaches and fears of what could have gone wrong.

A laugh interrupts my introspection before I could contemplate any further on the subject.

"You know I never thought any of my made up rumors would turn out to be true but your not doing yourself any favors disproving the notion right now. With that far away gaze anyone can tell what's really going on ya know. Hell my nephew always believes the crap I come up with but I don't actually know what I'd do with myself if one of my rumors actually turned out to be true. I think I'd have to quit my position as head of counterintelligence at the very least."

"Can you just tell me where I am and what's going on?" I ask exhaustedly

"Look, kid, I'd love to talk your ear off but your boyfriend promised to, and I quote, 'Immolate you dog brained monkeys', if I didn't get you in working order within a fortnight. Now it's only been a few days but I'd rather not tempt the incarnated force of nature into a blood rage because I decided some chit-chat was more important than bringing back his wife or pet or whatever the hell you are to him."

I really wanted to argue the point but something told me that words would be counterproductive for this person.

Leaving the bed was a strain but I manage to move forward with shaky steps following the elder out of the building and into the daylight. The outside air was cool and refreshing in a way that really hit home the differences from my old world. Perhaps I was biased by the fact that I had only lived in large cities but I still felt that the air of my earth could never quite match the thrum of life that this worlds air carries with it. The birds were chirping, Insects were alive all around me and I felt myself slip into a pseudo nirvana at the sheer density and number of insects within my range.

The sphere of my influence waxed and waned in time with my breaths and I can't help but shudder in fear and fascination with my powers new strange flexibility.

 _What does it mean now that I have such control? How do the new changes affect my multitasking? Will changing the range shift what I can control or will I still be limited only to insects? What other changes happened while I was out, and what do these changes mean?_

I don't spend much more time gaping at nature or my new changes, because as soon as a full half minute elapses I am grabbed by my one good arm and subsequently forced into a piggy-back ride by the silver-haired elder. She ran at blindingly fast speeds and her jumps carries us tens of feet into the air. Before I knew it we arrive at the outskirts of a small pseudo-community, passing by a few wooden houses on our way to our destination.

I am promptly let off managing an exasperated 'thanks' before I turn my attention to the perimeter.

"Is Kyuubi supposed to be around here because I'm not seeing him anywhere nearby and he's kind of hard to miss."

 _ **"You'd be surprised what humans will miss when they don't pay attention."**_

Swiftly twisting around I found Kyuubi sitting right behind us. He shouldn't even be able to squeeze through most of the gaps between the smaller trees dotting the area but none of them seem to be damaged which is doubly confusing.

"How is it that you are able to keep doing that?" I couldn't help but ask.

 _ **"I'm afraid you are going to have to be more specific. It's good to see that you didn't expire while under the mutts care by the way. It would have been a shame to level the place when they were so welcoming."**_ __Kyuubi replies with a tone that said he really wanted to do just that.

"I'm talking about how you manage to get around without people noticing you. It's disturbing that something your size can just appear out of nowhere."

"I would also like to know, the sentries have been having conniptions over your blatant ability to dodge their surveillance. Though sadly with your friend returned to full health that means the Inuzuka end of the deal is complete and you are to be on your way." The silver-haired Inuzuka interjects happily.

 _ **"Yes, I remember the deal. You've reminded me of it for the last three days. Still, I would like to explain what's going on to Skitter. Alone. If you wouldn't mind."**_ Kyuubi states with a small amount of exasperation leaking into the words.

"Whatever, just don't spend all day here. I can't wait to see Shinamarus face when we get to the village. I'll send word to start gathering everything while you two have your moment." The Inuzuka said excitedly before springing away in a standing jump that sent her hurtling nearly 15 meters in the air.

"So what's that about?" I said while turning to meet Kyuubi's disgruntled visage.

 ** _"I may have promised to...transport some of the Inuzuka's possessions from this area to the new village by the Plateau. Some overly optimistic clans have already started preliminary migrations to that area. Apparently, the Senju and Uchiha are scrambling to create order there before things get out of hand, though I'm not keen on the specifics just yet. Too many people moving at once will draw the attention of nearby countries and I assume they would take offense to a unified ninja village, especially if they share a border with such an entity. That means the clans of fire country have to either move as fast as they can to congregate resources or they have to move stealthily in the hope that the other countries ninja don't catch wind of what's going on."_** Kyuubi Explains reluctantly.

With a sigh of frustration, Kyuubi moves from a sitting position to a prone one and uses one of his clawed hands to rub at his forehead in a clear show of frustration.

 _ **"Sometimes I wonder if you are worth all this effort, first it was the brats, then multiple clan heads and now I've been roped into this hidden village debacle by the Inuzuka of all clans. Before we talk about that though I must know something. How did you manage to slip into a coma from a COMMUNICATION technique?"**_

"I think 'communication technique' is a pretty terrible description of ninshu, from your own admission you gave me the ability to speak your language from scratch with it. It can't be as simplistic as you say. Maybe my passenger used the connection ninshu provides to do something else entirely? I didn't really get the chance to converse with it before it did whatever to me. I'm still figuring out what happened but as of right now I'm reluctant to use my abilities and I don't know when I'll manage to sort this all out without some help."

 _ **"Fantastic, not only did you get no answers but now you are as useless as a civilian. Next time I feel like resolving a problem remind me to not get involved. Everytime I try to make things better it seems to come out worse for it."**_ Kyuubi says acidly

A moment of silent contemplation passes by us.

 _ **"I'm not keen on letting you wander about, there is far too much going on in the ninja world right now. You are by far the least annoying human I've had the displeasure of becoming acquainted with and I believe you will be a major factor preventing the brats from another catastrophe like the creation of ninjutsu."**_

"Your faith and praise astounds me." I deadpan. Kyuubi ignores my comment and continues on as if I hadn't spoken at all.

 _ **"I will be taking you with me when I take the Inuzuka's garbage to the village. Once we are there I can make a new den and we can probably get you help from whatever human maggots have already infested this new village."**_

"Wait we are moving just like that? What about the mountain den?"

Kyuubi winces slightly before answering.

 _ **"In my haste to diagnose your condition, I may have slightly blown out the whole back wall...and caused it to cave in a bit."**_

"Right moving then. Guess that means most of our stuff is gone, I was kinda fond of that origami fox collection but I suppose things could be worse. What I still don't get is this deal you made with the Inuzuka. Did they seriously ask you for compensation for helping me or is this something else?"

 _ **"That's the gist of it. That silver-haired mutt refused to help you unless I agreed to do them a favor. The sheer audacity of the act was rather impressive especially when the other leaders of the clan nearly attacked her when she propositioned it. I didn't think much of it at the time so I agreed without much thought. If I hadn't already decided to head that way eventually I might have refused but I've given my word and I intend to keep it."**_

After that, we talked for a few minutes about inconsequential things until the Inuzuka woman finally returned.

"Everything is almost prepared for transport, we should be ready by mid-afternoon. You will likely have to make multiple trips though if we are to get everything we need moved."

 _ **"Oh no, I refuse to make two trips. I will not degrade myself any further than I have to."**_

In the blink of an eye, Kyuubi seemed to expand outward, easily doubling his previous size.

 _ **"This was something I learned to do when I very young. Father built temples for the bijuu across the world and if it were not for this technique I would have outgrown it very quickly. I'll be able to move whatever needs transporting easily enough by shifting into a larger form if I must. Even having never learned Jutsu like humans use you must realize that I have a trick or two still kept in reserve. Now, are we done here or can we get on with this?"**_

XxxxX XxxxX

 _ **"This is ridiculous, how does a single clan have this much shit."**_

I restrain myself from laughing as I sat atop Kyuubi's massive head. Apparently, the Inuzuka woman wasn't joking about the possibility of multiple trips, because even in Kyuubi's largest form he still looked like my dad when he refused to make two trips carrying grocery bags into the house. Cables and ropes littered the circumference of his body and each binding held large crates or canvases that were packed to the brim with a random assortment of supplies. The cargo probably weighed something in the range of a hundred tons and yet Kyuubi moved as if he were carrying nothing at all.

"Well, what can you expect? They are moving their entire compound and anything they packed on you means stuff they don't have to move. I bet there are things here that they wouldn't have normally considered moving because of the weight or size."

Kyuubi grumbles and curses the Inuzuka for a while before settling down into a reluctant acceptance of his situation.

"What are the limits to your shifting ability anyway? Does it affect your mass or do you weigh the same no matter your size?"

 _ **"I'm limited to a certain range, going into smaller or larger forms becomes increasingly uncomfortable as I get closer to that ranges limit. My body is made of hyper-condensed chakra and when it becomes too condensed or too dispersed it loses its ability to stay together properly. Bijuu biology is somewhat dependant on the chakra nature that makes up their composition, many of the bijuu including myself passively mimic flesh and some internal organs which tends to complicate the shifting technique at its maximum ranges. Father explained to us that-"**_

I start zoning out a bit while Kyuubi goes into detail explaining why his father created the bijuu the way he did and how apparently mimicking a stomach was somehow important even though none of the bijuu required food to survive. Regardless the information provided a great distraction from my thoughts and it wasn't long before we reached the valley that signified the halfway point to the village.

 _ **"If we keep up at this pace we may get there just after sunset. If I moved any faster this junk would probably fall off or break. I'm almost tempted to do so just to spite that woman."**_

After Kyuubi's comment, I decide to just enjoy the view, at his current size Kyuubi was taller than any of the surrounding trees and from up on his head I could see for miles in any direction. The rush of air and the warm sunlight washes away any distractions and I find myself wishing that the ride would last longer than just a half day. Just as the sun began to set on the horizon telltale signs of human inhabitants began to appear. We were met by a group of ninja about a mile out from the makeshift walls of the village, though from up here they look more like ants than actual people. Gradually on our approach to our greeters, Kyuubi reduces his size until the massive containers were right above the ground and subsequently lashes his tails on the bindings to release them from their hold. His stride was unaltered by the weight change and I couldn't help but wonder what his true limits were in terms of sheer carrying capacity. The sentries were perched on tree branches that now lay at Kyuubi's eye level and they looked about ready to piss their pants in terror. We stop right in front of them and wait to see if they would say anything but they seem too in shock to move. After a short pause, Kyuubi finally decides to speak up and resolve the situation.

 _ **"Take us to your leaders. They invited us and we have business to discuss with them."**_ Kyuubi states reasonably, breaking the ninja out of their stupor.

Reluctantly the sentries escort us to a wall that seems to designate the villages outer perimeter. We are politely asked to wait until they could figure out who should be contacted first but they needn't have bothered. Kyuubi towered over the simple stone wall and whoever was inside likely already knew, or would soon know that they were at the gates. I took the time to gaze at the foundations already being set up, some simple stone houses interspersed with a few wooden ones were what made up a majority of the housing. There seems to be no marketplace or place of commerce as of yet but what they managed to build already was fairly impressive for how little time they had to make all of it happen in. After a few minutes of gazing at the new construction sites, we were met by a familiar set of people. A majority were from the original signing of the Kyuubi accords but there were also a few nervous looking members who had likely never seen Kyuubi firsthand.

"Welcome Kyuubi, we weren't expecting you for some time. We heard some news from the Inuzuka about your visit but they wouldn't say what you were doing at their compound." Said a man who looked suspiciously like an older version of the Nara we met the day before my coma.

 _ **"Smart of them, there are sensitive matters that must be discussed in regards to my visit. If the Inuzuka asks let them know that I took their cargo to the border of the village and no further. They can move it from where it now lays. Now is there someplace more private where we can discuss important matters."**_

"Of course, please follow us."

XxxxX XxxxX

I don't really understand why Kyuubi was so reluctant to reveal his ability to shift his size before now. Even as we were being escorted through a secret tunnel in the side of the plateau, his ability allowed him to just barely fit inside and subsequently converse privately with the leaders of the nascent community. I was the target of a few inquisitive glances on our way here and I could tell they are eager to exploit my supposed influence over Kyuubi so I decide to stay quiet and let Kyuubi handle the politics here. It makes sense for him to negotiate regardless since he was far more familiar with the clans politics than I was anyway. It took less than 10 seconds for Kyuubi to ruin my faith in his discretion and political acumen though and I immediately start regretting my decision to stay uninvolved in the meeting.

 _ **"The being accompanying me right now is Skitter. She is a humanoid extraterrestrial with knowledge from a far more advanced civilization. I have a proposition, an alliance under which you will provide her room and board along with any aid you can provide to help her with whatever tasks she deems necessary. In exchange, I will grant my protection to these lands so long as I choose to live within its borders. This protection shall only last for as long as you follow the intent and wording of our original accord. If you betray this trust I will end you and your very existence from history, sound agreeable?"**_

There is a short pause that carries a distinct lack of credulity or even faint disbelief from the representatives.

"Agreed, though we would stipulate that you two continue your lessons with our heirs if at all possible. They seem thoroughly enraptured by you and would no doubt rejoice on hearing that you made it here so quickly. It will take a few days to send word to them at the various compounds but it should not be long until they arrive." Said the Nara, appearing to have been unfazed by Kyuubi's proclamation.

"Did you want to comment on any of this Skitter? I would like to hear your thoughts on these matters before we agree to anything that includes you." Identifying the new speaker as an Aburame given his distinctive glasses and high collar, I decide to humor his question.

"I think everything is fine as it stands, I don't mind the kids all that much but there is one thing that I want to add," I say with confidence.

"And what would that be?" The Nara asked

"I would like to talk with your city planners or architects about implementing some improvements to your villages infrastructure."

There was a collective stiffening of shoulders when one of the newer faces reluctantly came forward. The man was quite a bit older than most in attendance and seems a bit uneasy at the current company, regardless he steps forward and bows at the waist in front of me.

"It would be my honor to hear your suggestions. My name is Takada and I am the Master builder in charge of planning the villages organization and zoning." Unbending from his bow Takada forcefully put a smile on his face and awkwardly steps back in behind the rest of the gathered members.

The rest of the meeting passes quickly and mostly revolved around them keeping our secrets from the general public. Kyuubi and I were to attend weekly meetings with them as part of their pseudo-governmental council, I agreed easily having been familiar with such things but Kyuubi only agreed to show up if it was absolutely necessary. All things considered, the meeting was going suspiciously smoothly and I had a feeling that most of the council was hiding their apprehensions behind professional facades. At the end of the meeting, we were offered the council's meeting space as temporary housing until Kyuubi decides on a more permanent abode. I was brought a cot and a dinner plate of fried fish and rice but I was surprisingly not feeling all that hungry and only ended up eating half of the meal. We were left to our own devices with a few promises of tours and such planned for the next few days.

"So this is really happening then. Getting involved with this place is going to be interesting. It's honestly impressive how much they managed to build in so short a timespan. I wonder what it's going to look like given a few years of construction." I say idly

Kyuubi is lying perpendicular to my cot with his face turned slightly away while resting his head on his hands. The lighting is dim in this place so most of his form is just a large silhouette.

 _ **"It's going to be a headache regardless. The clans might be able to supply themselves in the short term but if this venture is to work then they need support from the civilian population, especially in terms of agricultural supply. The fish and game around this area can only support them for so long and the population is going to grow exponentially if all goes to plan, especially now that we've so blatantly revealed the transportation of supplies across fire country. I believe the clans are about to migrate here as fast as they can, it won't be long before an organized assault will occur on this place from the other elemental countries. They will not stand for a unified fire country at their doorstep."**_

"Hmm, speaking of unity, what do you think the clans plan here is. It seems like they are jumping on this village idea pretty hard. It's odd to me that they are changing their way of life just like that?" I ask suspiciously.

 _ **"There are a lot of factors in play right now that are forcing their hands. Firstly there are quite a few foreign or rogue ninja groups that would love to tear into the clans. Unifying the clans only makes the target more appealing and worthwhile for them in the long term. Moving together provides the clans a measure of security and it's better that they start fortifying the village as quickly as they can manage. Secondly, you have to understand the conditions that they have been living in during this most recent warring era. Child soldiers as early as five to seven years old, with only perhaps one in four surviving to adulthood. Mass poisonings and floodings are norms for ninja combat and that's the least of it. Suffice it to say that the people aren't exactly eager to go back to how things were. The biggest factor here though is our involvement. I am absolutely certain that the clan elders are scheming of ways to end me. That is expected though, it gives them a reason to unify and I am absolutely sure that they won't be challenging me unless they have no other choice."**_

"Okay I can see that but why did you say 'Us', it's not like they would view me the same way they do you. Especially since the Aburame seem to be able to mimic many of my abilities."

 _ **"You forget how terrible the brats are at keeping secrets. Hashirama and Madara have likely already given their clans some of the information from your lessons. Knowledge is power and it means a lot more than you think when you give it away so freely. Even some of the basics you've taught me of physics and biology would have been jealously guarded. Had it been anyone from the elemental nations figuring out these sciences then that knowledge would likely have never made it out of the clan, perhaps not even out of the discoverers immediate family for many generations."**_

Kyuubi pauses for a moment before staring me down with a focus that was quite unsettling, even for him. The low lighting cast from the few candles only compounded the effect further. He looked like a pair of blood red eyes hovering out of the shadows, yet I could tell there was no malice in his gaze.

 _ **"You represent an advantage that the people here can exploit. So long as you are useful to the clans they will protect you as if their lives depended on it, because in a sense it very much does. Not only to avoid my wrath but to ensure they keep an advantage over their opposition. Regardless of their selfish motivations I still wish to see what these people will do with your worlds teachings. Even if this all turns out to be a waste of time, at least we'll have tried to make a change. Maybe this time will be different,"**_

His final words trailing off and barely reaching my ears, Kyuubi pauses and seems to contemplate something. Reluctantly, he speaks again in a softer more wistful tone that I'd never heard from him before.

"I do not believe in the inherent goodness of mankind like father once did. He dreamed of a day where people worked together instead of fighting each other. Up to his dying day, he sought out that dream with all his being. There was a time where I envied his human sons because they were chosen to follow that ideal while my siblings and I were left to our own devices. The few times I've tried to help humanity have…well let's just say they didn't end well. After so many years I abandoned the idea as a lost cause. If father or his sons couldn't manage it then what chance did I really have anyway? Now I feel I owe humanity at least one more chance to change things, for father's dream if for nothing else."

A long silence follows Kyuubi's solemn words while I contemplate what to say in response.

"I don't know if there is truly inherent goodness in people. Maybe I've seen too much of the worst in them to really believe that. I do think people can learn though, if given the right circumstances."

I get up from my cot and walk up to Kyuubi who was eyeing me suspiciously. Once I was within arms reach I present my arm to him as if I were going to give him a handshake.

"My name is Taylor Hebert and I swear to do my best to make your fathers dream become a reality."

Kyuubi looks at my hand contemplatively, all the while I begin feeling slightly self-conscious because I had no idea if the elemental countries even had handshakes. My doubt was quickly squashed when he took his own enormous clawed hand and wrapped it around the length of my entire arm.

 _ **"My name is Kurama and I appreciate the sentiment but I think this endeavor will take more than a single human lifetime to accomplish. Regardless I graciously accept your aid to enact my father's dream."**_ Kyuubi says slightly mockingly.

"Ya well your welcome" I deadpan

That night I dream of an old man standing in a candlelit circle. He is smiling sadly and his strange eyes glistened with unshed tears. There was an air of regret to his demeanor that I couldn't explain and not long after he disappears into darkness.

-AN: So I find myself in a bit of a scheduling dilemma. I want to write constantly but my wordsmithing is actually quite terrible. (plus my job has been throwing me under the bus). Anyway what i'm trying not to do is use tense changes, create Unnecessarily long & boring descriptions of things, or use confusing grammar. I need to work on my writing, so to do that I will be trying to get more things out into the forums when I get the chance (who knows when that will be). Then I'll have tons of strangers pinpointing my every flaw, that sounds fun right? And to those that thought this fic dead, let me just say that I try to live up to my username.


	10. Chapter 10: Negotiation

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

\- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

The morning after our arrival there is an explosion of activity. Word is beginning to spread through fire country about Kurama's move and the new council is starting to panic at the prospect of feeding and supplying the inevitable flood of migrants. Key figures such as the Senju and Uchiha leaders had been escorted to the village during the night of our arrival. The first official council meeting beginning the following morning with everyone present.

"It's untenable, we can barely sustain our food stocks as is when there are only a few hundred of us. What are we supposed to do when our numbers double or even triple? We are going to starve ourselves at our current rate of consumption. If Rain Countries' bloody mercenaries or Lightnings' legionnaires get word of our ambitions then they will not hesitate to create a siege on our walls." The Nara whose name I find out is Shinumaru says.

 _ **"You really think they'd challenge us this early with my presence so blatantly apparent?"**_ Kurama asks mockingly

"They will not care if you are here or not. They just have to stop all supply shipments from arriving for us to be neutralized." The Aburame remarks acerbically.

"We could supply supplemental vegetables and herbs from our greeneries but our method of accelerating plant growth requires too much chakra for us to supply the whole village in any meaningful capacity." Says the leader of the Senju

Kurama's eyes sharpen at the Senjus words and a flash of a grin forms on his muzzle.

 _ **"Really? Why wasn't this brought up earlier, it could have saved us hours of discussion."**_ Kurama barks out

We've only been talking for perhaps an hour and a half on the supply problem. I wonder how angry he's going to be when he discovers the list of discussion topics for the day is actually several pages long. I think idly as Kurama's frustration builds with each passing minute.

"W-well the secrets to our techniques have been guarded for generations and-" The Senju mutters before being cut off.

 _ **"I don't care! This issue needs to be solved now, not whenever you think it prudent to grace us with your oh so precious techniques. Tell me, does Hashirama know this technique?"**_

"Yes but the chakra require-"

 _ **"Then I will retrieve him and solve this problem myself. I will not sit here a moment longer when our problems can so easily be solved."**_ Kurama interrupts before promptly leaving the room and abandoning me to the council.

All eyes shift from Kurama's retreating form to my neutral expression.

"You know he told me to remind him not to try helping. Regardless he did mention a civilian population that could potentially help supply the village, know anything about that?" I mention conversationally while I try not to mentally curse Kurama for leaving me to work out the villages supply problems.

"I believe he may be referring to rice country or perhaps the capital of fire country. The fire daimyo is unlikely to support our cause since he holds jaded perceptions of ninja. Rice country is in an optimal position to trade with us but they have been suffering low harvest yields due to a pox this season. It would be better if we didn't have to rely on soft targets such as the civilian populations but for now, we are out of options." The Uchiha leader says exhaustedly.

The man had traveled the farthest to get to the village and had had little sleep the past two days. The dark bags under his eyes and the slight slump in his posture highlighting just how drained he is.

"I might be able to help with identifying the problem in rice country but I'm not certain about it. I'll talk to Kyuubi later about seeking aid from the daimyo as that seems the more reliable food source for the short term. Neither of us are ninja and I think this daimyo person will have a hard time saying no to Kyuubi when face to face with him."

Discussions progress in that manner for a few hours, all the while shifting topics as they came up. Housing is being created mostly through the use of simple earth jutsu with plans to add real infrastructure whenever the opportunity presents itself. I give Takada a rundown of basic city utilities from the times I helped with post-endbringer rebuilding. The concept and design structure of a modern cities sewer system makes the man practically hysterical with excitement. Some concepts like a power grid are still a ways away from being implemented since conventional electrical devices like light bulbs are only known to exist in remote parts of lightning country's higher class nobility.

Eventually, the meeting adjourns and I find myself given free rein to explore the village. The council gives me the option of a tour, but after having spent so long living in a cave the freedom to explore is enticing. Additionally, I am given the option of choosing my guards. Each having been carefully picked from the elite of each clan, all of whom are waiting outside in a row like some sort of criminal identification lineup. From the selection, I end up choosing three individuals, each from a different clan. One is a female Aburame member with blue-tinted sunglasses, the second was a member of the Hyuuga clan who sported a grey bandana that covers his forehead. The third and final member of my guard is a teenager from the Nara who sports a strange metal mesh undershirt and a myriad of holsters that seem to be stuffed to bursting with storage scrolls.

While I'm deciding where to go first I turn to talk to my guards but find that they have already vanished from my side. With a quick search through my swarm, I find that they are spread out evenly around me and seem to be forming a triangular perimeter. With a shrug, I ignore my followers and proceed to my first destination.

XxxxX XxxxX

I stand atop the plateau that overlooks the village and can't help but gape in awe from the view. Ninja swarm the totality of the village, making the walled-in enclosure resemble a bizarre mixture of an ant hill and a hornets' nest. Occasionally I spot the creation of a new building as it is seemingly summoned from the earth below. After an hour of people watching I am interrupted by a strange rumbling sensation that diffuses through the foundations of the village. Workers below stop what they are doing and seem to go on high alert, taking up battle positions and manning the walls in force. As one, their gazes shift to the west in eery synchronicity. Turning my gaze to match theirs I spot an anomaly of terrifying proportions. A section of trees nearly four miles wide seems to be quickly growing above the surrounding forests. Shifting and twisting menacingly, each branch and tree trunk clawing its way free from the surrounding canopies. The only consolation seems to be that the new growth is on the outskirts of the uninhabited section of the village.

I don't process what I am seeing at first, then my thoughts automatically shift into a battle-ready state as I try to comprehend what is really going on.

 _Is it an illusion or some kind of space warping effect like vistas powers could create? Maybe someone is attacking the village or trying to distract the guards to-_

"GODDAMMIT!" An inhumanly loud roar of frustration booms from the direction of the new superforest.

Breaking out of my adrenaline-filled state of mind I sigh explosively and gather some insects to talk with my three escorts simultaneously.

 _"I think I should see what's going on, would one of you mind bringing me over there,"_ I ask them politely through the hissing buzz of my swarm.

I find that creating speech through the swarm is much easier than it used to be and that I can convey inflection much easier than before. The increase in fidelity seems to amplify its unsettling properties simultaneously. The Nara unfurled one of his scrolls in a blindingly fast motion and is suddenly holding a coil of metal that resembles barbed wire. The Hyuuga is having some sort of mild panic attack after activating his clans' ocular ability. Only the Aburame female seems to take the message in stride, promptly vanishing into a swirl of leaves and reappearing by my side.

My other two guards regain their composure fairly quickly while the Aburame crouches down to offer me transport. I felt rather childlike having to be carried piggyback like this but I don't really see many other options. It takes a few minutes to locate the perpetrators but with the aid of my swarm and the Hyuugas vision we have no problems finding the origin point of the super-sized forest.

At the center of the superforest is a clearing that houses a familiar set of children and one irritated fox-kaiju. Kurama and the clan kids turn our way as my guards cautiously brought me into the clearing. After dropping me off they disappear again to form their hidden perimeter.

I start feeling newcomers entering my range from the direction of the village as I arrive but I notice that most seem rather cautious of the situation. Some are stopped by my guard after which many turn back, seemingly informing each other that everything was under control and that they can return to their duties.

"So this is new, anyone care to explain why the forest just spontaneously doubled in size?" I ask conversationally.

 _ **"The Brat didn't-"**_ Kurama starts before being interrupted

"It's all his fault!" Hashirama proclaims while pointing a finger in Kurama's direction

 _ **"My fault! You were the one who failed to inform me that you possessed the Mokuton."**_ Kurama states affronted.

"I didn't even know I had it until now. Most Mokuton users in the family history books didn't unlock it until their chakra coils developed fully. Your stupid plan of sharing your chakra nearly killed me and if it weren't for the Mokuton I would have probably exploded from chakra saturation!" Hashirama screeches childishly

"Maybe our lives would have been better if that had happened. You're already a pain as is and now you have a stupidly powerful bloodline on top of everything." Madara mutters loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Don't you even start! Like seriously, you of all people talking about bloodlines is-"

 _ **"Quiet!"**_ Kurama roars, making the clearing silent once more.

 _ **"As I was saying, the brat and I were supposed to be testing methods of growing food but we hit several complications. The growth acceleration techniques have an exponential chakra requirement based on how many plants in an area is being targeted. Hashirama could only affect plants within a three-foot radius for a few minutes so I decided to lend him some of my chakra to test the true limits of the technique."**_

"Huh, so you can just give people your chakra like that?" I interrupt quizzically

 _ **"I have had suspicions that a transmigrant of Ashura would be a suitable carrier for an infusion of my chakra and I was proven correct. The brat failed to maintain his head and panicked, using Mokuton instinctually instead of through a jutsu. This eyesore is now suffused with both the brats converted Mokuton energy and my own potent nature energies. I have no idea what the long-term ecological ramifications of this will be but I assure you it will not be pleasant."**_ Kurama informs us acerbically

Just as he finishes a squadron of familiar people enter my range and practically teleport to clearings center.

"Is it too much to ask first before remodeling the landscape? Maybe like a little warning or something so next time our border patrol doesn't think we are under attack. Perhaps mention it in a briefing like we had just this morning?" The Nara councilman whines pitiably

"I would like to know why the heirs decided to become involved. You lot should be preparing for tomorrow's lessons not galavanting around with Skitter and Kyuubi." The Uchiha elder said while trying to mask his anger and confusion. All the while his gaze focused upon Madara unerringly.

"W-well you see, funny story about that-" Madara starts before suddenly grabbing something from his sleeve and throwing it at the ground. A small plume of white smoke engulfs his form and leaves a distinct absence in its wake once it disperses.

A look of betrayal overtakes the other clan kids as I watch Madara fleeing through the canopy cover with my swarm.

Today is going to be one of those days. I mentally sigh

XxxxX XxxxX

In the following days after the forest incident, I observe an astonishing increase in population that outstrips the counsels predicted numbers. I ask around for why this substantial increase is occurring and find out that word is spreading about Kurama's experiment with Hashirama. Apparently, the ninja rumor mill is floundering over the implications of Hashirama unlocking a bloodline ability and now people think that Kurama and I can somehow impart divine favor onto our pupils. With the population influx, the villages food shortage problem is increasingly becoming a threat to the survival of the village. Together with the council, we decide to form a diplomatic party that will travel to the heart of fire country so that the village can negotiate for civilian support. At the end of the meeting, ten representatives are chosen from the clans more politically inclined sectors to embark on the mission with Kurama and me into fire country's capital.

On the first day of the trip, Kurama informs me that fire country is about three days away while also informing the representatives that they will be sleeping on his back during the nights to prevent time from being wasted. None seem particularly willing to argue the point though and one of them even seems excited by the prospect. On that first night, the ninja representatives seem almost paralyzed by the fear of somehow upsetting Kurama and receive very poor sleep. On the second night, however, this inhibition is thrown out the metaphorical window. The sleep deprivation causing the individuals to cozy up and sleep in the oddest places. The favored spot seems to be the nape of Kurama's neck as it provides the most protection against the cold night air. With black traveling cloaks adorning the majority of the representatives they took on the appearance of giant ticks and I can't help but laugh bitterly at the accuracy of the thought.

 _ **"What are you laughing at?"**_ Kurama asks wearily

"Nothing, just thinking about how everyone relies on you. It's just... I've told you my regrets and you've told me some of yours and they seem to have a common theme don't they? People rely on us and then we make the wrong choice or don't live up to their expectations and then everything goes to shit. It just makes me wonder if hinging important things on individuals is a good idea. I mean look at what happened with the sage. Would he have regretted his life's work if he knew a thousand years of strife would come from his good intentions?" I ask tiredly as I watch the stars glisten in between the sporadic cloud cover.

 _ **"He was never one to dwell on regrets, had he known what would happen I think he would have just tried to do better. He had this saying that went something like, 'Regrets weigh us down and bind us, but when we see-"**_

"-who we ought to be they float free and guide us." Finishes one of the representatives, causing Kurama to look back at the woman with an approving nod.

 _ **"I'm glad at least some of his works have not been tainted over the years. You, humans, have a tendency to reword things that don't line up with your own beliefs."**_

"That may be true for most other writings but the sages works hold deeper significance for those willing to listen." The woman says while pulling out a strange necklace from around her neck.

"If it's not too much trouble can you tell us about the sages life? You sound as if you've met him before and our only other first-hand accounts are from the oldest members of the toad summons clan. Much has been lost over the centuries and we know almost nothing of his life before his inception of ninjutsu. I would forever be in your debt if you would but grant this single request." The woman practically begs, causing the other representatives to stir awake and silently watch the spectacle.

 _ **"As a follower of the paths, I find it rather insulting that you know so little of the man you claim to idolize. Ah well, I suppose I shall have to correct your disgraceful misunderstandings of history. The sage was the one to create my siblings and I. On a side note old man Gamamaru may have know our father longer than we did but the old geezer toad went senile over three hundred years ago so I wouldn't put much faith into his recollections. There is no one alive today that knows the sage of six paths better than the biju do now. Also, the sage was the founder of ninshu NOT your accursed ninjutsu."**_ Kurama replies with the tone of an inordinately serious college professor.

I hear exclamations of shock from the other passengers and decide to allow Kurama's rumbling baritone to carry me off to sleep.

XxxxX XxxxX

Our arrival in the capital slows down when we reach its farthest border. The outer reaches of the capital are bordered by small communities that seemingly thrive on the continual commerce that passes through one of this world's foremost centers of human civilization.

Panicking citizens scream out warnings to one another as we crest over the horizon and nearly everyone is off the streets and hiding by the time we near the small settlement. Kurama condenses his massive traveling form into something more suited to traversing the roads while keeping his form large enough to carry all of us comfortably. Apparently, while I was asleep Kurama gained a somewhat more tolerant stance in regards to the representatives and had allowed them to stay on his back until we reach the capital.

This is probably why the people began to whisper amongst themselves in their homes. All conversation seems to be centered around why the 'Kyuubi no Yoko' is doing walking toward their capital with a bunch of people clearly riding on top of him.

-"The rumors cant be true, there's no way…"

-"Oh kami, it's right in the street. That thing shouldn't exist"

-"Mom I'm scared, what's going on, why do we have to hide?"

I listen to a hundred conversations as the citizens eventually calm down from their initial panic. They seem to have heard rumors of Kurama and my own existence, expressing both relief and awe at the apparent validity of the news. The braver few start exiting their residencies, some start bowing while others just watch on in flabbergasted revery at our passage. When we start reaching the actual capital our arrival turns quickly into a huge spectacle. People begin to flood the streets in an attempt to view our arrival with so many flooding in that it begins to hamper our progress as Kurama tries to avoid stepping on people. Eventually, some sort of strangely armored police force starts controlling the crowds while also guiding us through the twisting streets.

Within minutes we finally arrive at the daimyos residence. It is the first multi-story building I'd seen since arriving in this world, sporting an architectural style that would have fit my worlds japan a few hundred years ago. The doors are made of thick wooden sheets and are just big enough for Kurama to squeeze through. Even in his smallest form, Kurama is still about as large as an adult bull elephant and the guards seem about ready to stop him from entering before restraining themselves.

When we pass into the entryway we notice a man in formal looking robes talking to another person who is wearing a fancier version of the city guards armor. They both stop immediately at our entrance, for a moment the man in formal robes gauges our reactions, seemingly unsurprised by our appearance. Then with a distracted wave, the daimyo orders the guards out of the room and we find ourselves alone with the ruler of fire country. A chill goes down my spine when the doors behind us clank ominously signaling what sounds be a massive locking mechanism.

"Kyuubi, Skitter, and honored guests welcome to the capital."

 _Something's wrong here, why is he meeting us alone like this?_

 _ **"What is the meaning of this daimyo, I can feel the seals upon this place but you cannot honestly expect them to hold against my might,"**_ Kurama asks calmy

In response to the question the man only laughs.

"Oh my no, I am not nearly that foolish. The seals are to prevent eavesdropping mostly, though they have been upgraded recently due to some rumors of a certain ancient entity roaming around." The daimyo says conspiratorially while eyeing Kurama.

The diplomats seem uncertain how to proceed as the man begins walking closer toward our group.

"Can you imagine our bafflement when rumor spread about your being not only sapient but also inclined toward 'diplomacy'. My nobels wouldn't hear a word of it, said that the ninja just wanted to trick us with their new weapon and yet...here you are." He said wondrously as he stops right in front of Kurama's massive form.

 _ **"And yet here we are. You must know why we've come all this way then, do you not?"**_ Kurama asks impatiently

"That I do, and I wouldn't want to waste everyone's time now would I? How about we do this the fast way then." The daimyo says while moving his hands into an odd position.

His left hand is held close to his chest with his index and middle fingers held straight up while his right arm is held out in what seems to be the beginnings of a fist bump. I stare for a moment in confusion at the strange gesture before Kurama bursts into a discordant cackle.

"I would never have guessed that ninshu would be kept alive by the civilian nobility of all things," Kurama says acerbically before closing his eyes and completing the fist bump.

In the minutes of silence that follow their silent communication one of the representative's voices their confusion.

"Wait so, doesn't this mean that our presence here is basically irrelevant."

"Yup seems like it." I say flippantly

"Son of a-"

XxxxX XxxxX

 _ **"It's times like this that I wish I had just stepped on you instead of talking to you. Maybe if I had done that then I wouldn't have to suffer through this humility."**_ Kurama grouses angrily

"You act like you didn't volunteer for this, and besides the village needs supplies to tide itself over until the caravans can be sent out," I say soothingly

"What I want to know is how you got the daimyo to just give you all these supplies? We had dozens of contracts regarding fair trade agreements and military protection accords but that all seems to have been thrown out the window with your magical fistbump bullshit." One of the representatives says acidly

 _ **"Just because I tolerate your presence does not mean I will allow you to mock my father's technique."**_ Kurama practically growls out while adjusting some of the sagging cargo crates of food tied to his waist.

"I am Sorry Kyuubi-sama, it just seems unfair that all of our preparatory work was completely pointless. The fact that the daimyo knew ninshu still confounds me as well. It's supposed to have been lost to time, hell most ninjas don't know of its existence and yet a civilian-"

 _ **"Yes I understand but the answer is rather simple. The political environment has always been rife with spies, assassins, genjutsu specialists and so on. Ninshu provides a means to bypass nearly every form of uncertainty. The reason why the daimyo don't war with one another as often as ninja do is because of the secret tradition of using ninshu to resolve their disputes. This method is not perfect, humans can understand each others motives and feelings while simultaneously hating their guts. In fact, the fire daimyo plans to use our villages superior military power to strongarm the other daimyo into reining in their ninja."**_ Kurama interrupts informatively

"This whole situation is escalating pretty fast don't you think? I mean now we are affecting the political climate of not just fire country but the other elemental countries as well. Don't you think the ninja of the other countries will be pissed once they discover our meddling with whatever deals they had with their daimyo?" I ask

 _ **"What are they going to do about, with me there they won't dare try anything and if they do then they will feel my WRA-**_ _ ***SNAP***_ _ **GOD DAMMIT!"**_ Kurama roars as one of the cargo containers of dried rice breaks free from its tether.

XxxxX *Bonus* XxxxX

"Hello is anyone here?" A 12-year-old boy asks confidently to the seemingly empty desert cave

 _ **"Who dares defile the great Shukaku's den with their presence!"**_ Shikaku barks out while appearing from the interior of the rocky cavern.

"Uh hi my names Iroh, I'm sorta lost right now and I figured I'd try asking you for help. Oh and I got this on my way through fire country but you can have some too if you want!" The young monk exclaims while showcasing his large tea kettle and tea leaves.

Memories of the sage sharing tea with him flood shukaku's mind and he almost forgets to be angry about the little human's presence.

 _ **"Why the hell did you bring tea to the middle of my desert gaki?!"**_

"I just think that sharing tea with a stranger is one of life true delights, so I bring some wherever I go just in case! Besides how many people can say that they talked with the great Shukaku?" The boy exclaims happily

This kid kinda sounds like father, plus he's the only person whose visited me in...ever really.

 _ **"Ya know what, tea sounds good."**_

AN: Thanks to Inimicaltrowel for betaing the chapter, much appreciated. Next chapter- _Inquizative Minds_


	11. Chapter 11: Inquizative Minds

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."

\- Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)

The villagers excitement for our return is an odd sight, almost festival like in that there are food vendors and decorations strewn across most of the residency section. Before we could really take in the scene we are quickly called into another clan counsel meeting.

"Our messenger summons have confirmed the fire Daimyo's intentions of supplying the village. Additionally there are rumours of the other daimyo trying to balance the offset of power by creating their own ninja military villages. In all likelihood our fellow ninja of the elemental countries will soon be too busy dealing with their unhappy daimyo to bother with our village for quite some time." The senju representative says excitedly to the room.

 ** _"_** ** _I have seen this sort of situation before. It will take the Daimyo years before they can coerce their ninja clans into a unified force and even then such coalitions will only last at most a decade before the clans break into their constituent factions. We shall have little to fear from outside factors interfering with what we are trying to accomplish here."_** Kurama replies back smugly

"There are still threats out in the world that can level the village. What contingencies do we have if another bijuu attacks for instance? We can't become too confident of ourselves just yet." Shinomaru calmy retorts

 ** _"_** ** _There are few things in this world that can stand the assault of a bijju, your contingency for such an occasion would be to run as far away as you can and let me handle it. Besides, my siblings have never much involved themselves with humanities affairs and they know not to mess with things within my territory."_** Kurama says unconcernedly

"So with that out of the way and our food shortage solved, what are the villages major concerns that need to be taken care of now?" I ask the group

A moment passes where the council give each other a glace before the Uchiha representative speaks.

"We had a few discussions while the two of you were away. After the incident with training ground 44 we-"

"Hold on, which training ground is that? I thought there were only around 35 training grounds scheduled for construction on Takadas schematics?" I Interrupt

"Ah right, training ground 44 also known as The Forest of Death. When Hashirama and Kyuubi performed that experiment the flora and fauna of the area began showing traits such as gigantism and murderous territorialism. If it weren't for the Kaguya clan making residence in the area we would have had a blood bath within the village." The Uchiha explains reluctantly

 **"** **Hold on a moment, you let the clan of bone wielding murderous sociopaths step foot into my village. Why exactly did you think that was a good idea?"** Kurama responds dangerously

"You can blame me for that one. You were gone at the time and they were at our doorstep. There are rumors of a powerful Shikotsumyaku user within this generation and we were unprepared to fight them. Luckily their pride and barbaric traditions made it easy to trick them into accepting a test of strength. The challenge being that if they could kill all the beasts within the forest then they would be worthy to fight us. The thing is we were struggling to contain the area at the time. The Kaguya's archaic culture and inborn bloodlust made it impossible for them to refuse the challenge and so we thought to solve two problems with one solution. What we didn't expect was for the survivors to ask us for the rights of residency to that hellhole." Shinomaru states lazily

"I must admit your idea has worked far better than I imagined possible Shinomaru, turning that barbaric lot into useful members of society would never have occured to me. The chakra enriched animal skins that they have provided alone makes the whole venture worthwhile in my eyes. As I was saying though, after that incident the clan heirs came to us with a proposal for a new education system that they are referring to as 'The Academy'. Would you two be interested in hearing out their proposal?"

Kurama and I share a look before he sighs dramatically.

 ** _"_** ** _Well since you lot seem to have the village handled at the moment I suppose we have time to ensure that the brats receive a proper education. We have been fairly neglectful of the them as of late."_** Kurama contemplates out loud

"Well let's hear what their proposal is, Im rather interested in what they came up with." 

XxxxX XxxxX

The Academy turned out to be a fairly straightforward concept. The proposal would rely on the use of a greek style open-air amphitheater to allow Kurama and myself to give lectures and hold debates on our ideologies and knowledge. In the same vein a smaller building next to the amphitheater would provide a place for a more traditional school system that I was sadly already familiar with.

With our blessing the clan heirs ideas are approved, after which we decide to give the news directly to our students. Heading out into the village with me riding on top of Kurama's head we quickly bypass the normal array of gawking onlookers. With Kurama's sensing ability we travel toward one of the new training grounds where Hashirama and Madara seem to be discussing something with their fellow clan heirs.

"It's just not right, Tobirama's always been anti social but now he's spending all this time with my girlfriend and it just doesn't make sense to me. I mean sure revolutionary sealcraft is exciting but- Holy crap what are you doing here!" Hashirama yells while pointing a finger in our direction

 ** _"_** ** _Show a little respect brat! We've made time from our busy schedules just for you pathetic bunch and this is how we are greeted."_** Kurama berates

"Don't mind Hashirama, he's still angry from the forest of death incident. He's had abysmal chakra control since then and wont stop complaining. What can we do for you senseis?" Madara tiredly responds

"We came to let you guys know that the Academy idea is approved and that construction will start soon. Until then we figured we'd ask what you all are most interested in learning." I say to the gathered heirs

A few seconds of contemplation passes through the group until finally someone speaks up.

"Everything," the Aburame named Shikuro proclaims resolutely

I hold their gaze for a moment and they hold my stare with a resolve that can be felt even through their sunglasses.

Kind of intense for such a mundane question. It seems like they've been waiting a while for this opportunity.

"I want to know everything you have to teach. Ninshu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Philosophy, entomology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, History both our own and yours Skitter. I want to know anything and everything you are willing to bestow upon us!" Shikuro says with the kind of determination and excitement that even jack slash would find admirable.

"Shikuro calm down you remember what happened last-" The Hyuuga starts to say

"I DON'T CARE HOHETO, how do none of you get just how fundamentally mind-blowing our situation is? Who else in the entire recording of history can say that they were taught by ancient entities of immeasurable power or people from other worlds! How can any of you be so calm about this when they are literally offering us whatever knowledge we want!" Shikuro yells fervently while insects begin pouring from their body.

In a flash Madara pins Shikuros arms behind their back and calmly asks them to recall their kikaichu. In startled realization Shikuro looks in my direction and flinches back in shock.

"What? I'm not going to freak out like before, Im perfectly capable of ignoring your-" I start to say before stopping as I notice the kikaichu gathering on my hand with no directive from me.

A connection forms that is different from my normal control. I can feel their curiosity, their need to gather knowledge and to bring that knowledge back to the hive. Somehow the insects connect with one another via a shared chakra source, creating a pseudo intelligent network that can transmit complex information. My analysis of the kikaichu cuts short when I recognize Kurama is speaking.

 ** _"_** ** _This happened once before, but I'm not sure what causes it though."_**

"What what means? I just drifted off for a second, im fine now." I state a little shakily

"You positive about that? Because it's been like 5 minutes since you've moved." Hashirama asks skeptically

"Yes I'm fine. Now what were you talking about." I say mostly to reassure myself

"Maybe take a look at your eyes first." Hoheto says while cautiously handing me a small hand sized mirror

Curiously I take the mirror and look at my eyes. Instead of seeing my usual brown pupils there are black voids filled to the brim with motes of light, each its own star in a vast constellation.

"Well...that's...different." I state with trepidation

For some reason Kurama lets out a bark of laughter at my words.

I allow a brief connection to form between the kikaichu hurriedly ordering them back to their home/master. I watch my eyes fade back into normality as the insects fly off my skin, and I sigh in relief.

A gasp from Shikuro immediately turns my relief into trepidation. Looking up I find that the Aburame is on their knees with their hands holding onto their head in apparent pain.

"I- we- they shouldn't be- but-" The jumbled muttering of the Aburame barely reaches me as I watch tears fall from behind the protective tinted glasses.

"We need to get Shikuro to her clan compound, something is happening with her swarm and its disrupting chakra flow throughout her body." Hoheto quickly calls out while observing the Aburame with his eyes activated.

 ** _"_** ** _It's never a dull day with you lot is it."_** Kurama says while scooping us all into a cupped hand and striding off into the direction of the Aburame clan compound. 

XxxxX XxxxX

At the clan compound we are greeted with a startled looking Aburame guard. After informing the person about the situation they quickly take us to an empty building and gather the Aburame healers. A quick scan with oddly green glowing hand later seems to indicate that nothing is wrong but the healers also profess their confusion at the odd behavior of Shikuros Kikaichu. A little over half an hour later Shikuro finally becomes lucid enough to explain what was apparently happening to them.

"Kikaichu are selectively bred for both adaptability and intelligence gathering. They can memorize specific senses or even chakra signatures and impart that knowledge into their user as part of our symbiotic bond. It's part of the reason why the Aburame are excellent trackers and sensors. The information my swarm sent back to me was nothing like what they should be capable of though. There was just too much stimuli that I didn't know how to process. Even now there is just so much more I can feel from them, it's almost like they have their own will. It's like there's another person in here with me." Shikuro rasps out while staring at her uncovered arms.

I begin to panic a bit at the mention of a secondary intelligence living in their head.

Is it possible that my passenger found a way to bud without the need of a trigger?

"Can you tell us more about its intelligence? Like is it talking to you or…" The nara questions hesitantly

"Not really, it's hard to find the right words for it. They are mostly just inquisitive but I don't actually know if its them feeling that or if they are being directed by my subconscious." Shikuro mutters to themself.

The Aburame clan councilman enters into the room soon after and asks the clan heirs to return home for the day. There is little objection from the kids and I find myself mostly alone with the Aburame elder. Kurama having been too big to enter the building lay just outside, listening in on our conversations.

"You know it is Aburame policy not to believe any of Chara Inuzuka's rumors. Her most recent one states that you and the Kyuubi have the divine ability to unlock a clans hidden power, namely in the form of bloodline abilities. We observed that the incident with Hashirama and his unlocking of the mokuton was merely an accident. Still when I heard news of what happened I almost... well lets just say today is the closest i've been to believing. Could you please explain what happened so that I can convince myself that Chara isn't actually an Oracle like she proclaims to be?" The Aburame elder asks tiredly while trying and failing to lighten the mood.

"Of course I'll tell you, but I have to say that even I don't know exactly what happened here."

The next hours are filled with my idle theorising on what could have potentially occured. Eventually Shikuro falls asleep to the sound of our conversation all the while seemingly muttering to themselves. 

XxxxX XxxxX

The next day the clan heirs meet Kurama and I at the entrance to our cove, including one slightly disheveled looking Shikuro.

"Well looks like your doing better than yesterday. Any problems with your kikaichu so far?" I ask worriedly

"None that I can't handle Skitter sensei, though my parents have forbid me from using jutsu for a few days to acclimate myself to the changes. Can we please start our lessons today, I'd really like something to take my mind off things if that's alright with you." Shikuro states neutrally

"Sure thing, I'll even teach whichever subject you want to learn first as an apology. We received chairs and paper if you want to use them."

For the remainder of the week I teach my students using the socratic method which involved them asking questions about everything I knew. Simple questions start becoming more complex ones as the kids realize just how far my depths of knowledge reaches. Questions like where stars come from or why the sky changes color at dawn and dusk turn into hour long lectures about Rayleigh Scattering and the astrophysics of celestial bodies. Shikuro seems to be the most curious of the bunch, always asking follow up questions and relentlessly dissecting each explanation. Whenever I felt the need to take a break Kurama would shift discussion towards historical events and the need to avoid repeating humanities past mistakes. Before and after each lesson I try experimenting with my powers hoping to figure out what caused my eyes to change and eventually come to some unsettling conclusions.

The first discovery is that excessive amounts of chakra exposure can trigger the shift and that while in that state I could sense nature energies around me in the form of a strange synesthetic blend of sight sound and strangely enough taste. Secondly I could force the change if I had a mixture of human and insect chakra, namely in the form of Kikaichu. This I discovered only after the Aburame offered me one of their queens as a show of both respect and as a method for protecting myself against ninja in the future. Queen Kikaichu have the strangest instics of any insect I've ever encountered before. Its first instinct is to burrow into human flesh so that it can run a network through the users chakra system. I am not overly happy with that instinct being directed at me, not just because of the pain that such a process would incur but also the reminder of bonesaws promises of turning me into a living hive. Plus I have no idea what the queen would do if there is no chakra system to guide the process. Lastly I found out that Kikaichu could resist my control depending on how much human chakra is suffusing them at the time, and while inside their hosts they are completely obscured to me.

"Are you ever afraid that your passenger will take control of you one day?" Shikuro asks me while I am experimenting with my kikaichu queen after the lessons for the day had been concluded.

Pausing I look at the Aburame with my shifted eyes observing the turbulence of their residual chakra before responding.

"Kyuubi has been talking behind my back again hasn't he? I didn't think he'd feel like sharing that part about my powers but I suppose it doesn't really matter. I imagine you are afraid of something similar happening to you since your kikaichu have changed?" I ask rhetorically

"I'm afraid to test their true limits, what if they become truly sentient? How do I know that these things living within me wont turn me into a monster?"

Giving out a hum of contemplation i give her my full attention. My kikaichu queen flies into a hidden compartment in my clothes, reverting my eyes back to their normal hue.

"I've seen so many different kinds of monsters in my life, I would hardly call the things living within us monsters though. For me my passenger is a part of who I am and in some odd way I think I am a part of it as well. Maybe Kyuubis experiment with ninshu affected my perceptions but I don't think I can be afraid of something that only ever wished to help me. Perhaps it might be different for you but I would do my best to work with my partner even if they truly became sentient."

"I'll take your perspective into consideration, have a good night Skitter sensei" Shikuro says before hastily leaving me to my experimenting

Without my direction the kikaichu queen flies onto my hand in a practiced manner.

How intelligent are you really, can you understand me? Do you feel the things that I feel or are you just an observer trapped watching from afar.

My thoughts trail off into random directions as I watch the hyper intelligent insect stare at me like a curious child might it's mother.

AN: I've had 2 days off since my last update, my sanity has slowly been oozing out of me so you'll likely see a dip in quality with reguards to this chapter. I'm posting this from a tablet at the moment so any edits will likely be later on in the week when I can access my home computer. Have a wonderful day everybody


	12. Chapter 12: The Dragon of the West

"Sanity is a madness put to good uses."  
\- George Santayana (1863-1952)

Slowly over the course of a few months, the village finally finds itself growing into its full potential and begins to look like an actual center of civilization. With Hashirama's constant willingness to test the scope and detail of his Mokuton abilities he manages to build nearly half of the infrastructure of the village by himself. The exemplary durability of his created structures made the residents feel safer and provided a connection that would eventually blossom into hero worship as the magnitude of his contribution begins to propagate through the collective consciousness of the village.

The academy takes in its first non-clan members and soon I find myself slightly overwhelmed by the number of people who arrive for the first lectures. Civilians from across fire country take some time to eventually make their way to the village but all too soon we form some of our first mercantile trading pacts. My teachings have inspired many of the minor clans to create their own services that would have been impossible before. One of the more impressive of which was a clan who managed to figure out a way to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere to create powerful fertilizers. When asked about how they managed the feat they had reluctantly confessed to have been attempting to create explosives from the basics of chemistry I had taught at the academy.

Kurama and I chastised the idiots for attempting to create explosives within the village without supervision or permission and I stated that it was a miracle that no one had died. Little did I know that my innocuous words would propagate like a virus and all too soon the village became to be known as the land of miracles. The Diamayo even went so far as to christen the village with the name 'The Miracle' and once that decree reached our ears it was far too late to change as a majority of fire country had already started referring to our home as the land of miracles.

Kurama and I fell into the roles of administration as our village spread its influence farther into the world and began to explore more of the possibilities my knowledge presented to them. My life was filled with teaching my students and exploring my Kikaichus abilities and for the first time, I felt really content with where my life was headed.

Not two hours after this thought crosses my mind before the emergency sirens blast through the entirety of the village and I can't help but think that this is my fault somehow for tempting fate. Making my way to the lookouts on the wall I'm directed toward an object the size of a small mountain which is flying steadily toward the village. Kurama arrives soon after looking a bit disheveled with a few tree branches sticking out of his fur.

 _Looks like someone was sparring with Hashirama again. I swear that kid won't be happy until he could face off against the bijuu in single combat._

Being lifted atop Kurama's head I watch as the object flies toward the village at an impressive velocity. If it weren't for the Hyuuga sentries we likely wouldn't have seen it until it was over the village. The thing seemed at first to be a shifting tan cloud but as it grew closer the cloud began losing momentum and solidifying into some kind of wyvern or dragon-like creature.

"I can't get a good read on that thing, it's too far away. Got any ideas on what it is Kurama?"

"I don't believe this," Kurama begins in a strange tone

"That thing feels like Shukaku, my giant dirt clod of a brother, but I don't understand how he managed to create a method to fly. That idiot has had centuries to refine his abilities and the most innovative idea he ever managed was a glorified sneeze." Kurama explains

The distant flying figure eventually fully resolves itself into a tan colored dragon emblazoned with blue lines that crisscross its entire being. Kurama finally decides to blast it out of the sky with a bijuu dama, completely uncaring of the potential for harming what was likely to be one of his siblings.

Upon firing said energy attack the creature jerks sideways while rolling to one side. A muted shockwave passes through the area and the sound of an angry roar soon follows afterward. Even having dodged a majority of the blast the sand bijuu's form is a mangled menagerie of glistening glassed sand, barely cohesive enough to showcase its rage.

Moving quickly Kurama dashes away from the village and draws the attention of the beast away from our home. The valleys to the west were close enough to the village and would provide a better battleground for the bijuu.

Weirdly enough the sand dragon seemed to be talking with itself as it chased us across the distance toward our battleground. I manage to eavesdrop on what it is saying through my swarm but from what I was hearing it seemed to just confirm the theory that the dragon was in fact Shukaku.

"See I told you talking wouldn't work. Kurama has always been an insufferable prick and this proves that he hasn't changed at all. let's show him that I deserve to be respected then we can follow through with the plan."

Relaying what was said out loud I couldn't help but add on my own opinion to Kurama.

"I don't think your brother appreciates your version of diplomacy, in fact, he sounds pretty pissed. Also sounds like he's talking to someone else but I can't detect anyone nearby." I add on

"His default emotion is pissed, it's better to direct his ire toward us rather than the village. He also has a long history of insanity so there might not actually be anyone else with him. Though I find the idea of a human managing to survive Shukaku's presence a highly entertaining idea."

"I thought that the bijuu stayed away from one another anyway? Why is Shukaku coming here now?"

"Don't know, but we can ask him after I'm finished tearing him apart into a gravel pile," Kurama growls out in response

A roar of rage from the other bijuu above us indicates just how close Shukaku was to our position as he apparently heard Kurama's threat. The towering monstrosity of sand is gaining speed and a quick check with my new eyes showcases the cause. Shukaku could apparently manipulate wind chakra in a way that produced slipstreams and veritable tornadoes of thrust behind him.

"He's speeding up, I'd recommend stopping him before he can build up too much more momentum. I also don't think he would be very good at turning mid-air based on how he's using wind chakra as thrust."

"That's fine, we should be far enough away from the village now anyway."

With those words, Kurama abruptly spins around nearly flinging me off his head and begins charging another far more powerful bijuu dama. Shukaku's eyes visibly widen but his ability to control his flight path also seems limited by his sheer momentum. A blazing purple ball of force rockets away from Kurama's maw heading straight for Shukaku's diving form.

"Hellfire Lance!" Shukaku roars before firing a concentrated beam of white fire

The beam hits Kurama's dama straight on, piercing the energy construct and causing it to donate into a billowing grey cloud of chakra smoke.

"That was a fire technique, how the hell-" Kurama begins before the form of Shukaku emerges from the cloud and slams directly into us.

Through some miracle, I manage to stay atop Kurama's head only having a strange soreness in my legs as any indication of damage.

"I heard a rumor that you got yourself a human too but I thought you'd be smarter than to leave it out in the open when you fought," Shukaku says mockingly while the two bijuu lock each other in a struggle of physical strength.

"I hardly think I should be listening to your advice on humans. I seem to recall plenty of instances where you forgot that humans needed water to survive for more than a week. Besides if I left her elsewhere she couldn't do this."

At Kurama's words, I finish moving a swarm into attack range, using the dense cloud to assault Shukaku's eyes and mouth. The subsequent draconian cry of rage brings back memories of my times fighting lung and I can't help but smile at my successful attack.

The two bijuu disengage while Shukaku swipes at the swarm. Normally an insect swarm would probably be very ineffective against the sand bijuu but my swarm now sported a healthy amount of kikaichu who could cause damage to the chakra beasts pseudo-flesh. Eventually, Shukaku mutters something to himself and a burst of fire escapes his maw incinerating the swarm around his face.

"How is it that you know fire techniques, your chakra nature is wind so how did you manage the control necessary for a chakra transformation," Kurama says while gesturing to the other bijuu's still smoking maw

"Not everything has to have a complicated answer you know. You never understood that sometimes the simplest answers are better than complicated ones."

"I can tell that you didn't come up with that yourself. Tell me, who was it that managed to break you from your perpetual idiocy. Someone who managed to teach even you to speak properly must be a legend in the making, perhaps even the second coming of father himself." Kurama says mockingly

Despite the sarcasm, Shukaku seems pleased by the words.

"Iroh is the best human ever, not even father understood me as well as he does. He showed me what having a purpose is like and yes we have also been working on my vocabulary you prick, thanks for noticing. No one else ever bothered to give me the time of day to just talk to me so how would I ever be expected to learn anything. Maybe I wouldn't have ended up so...broken if I wasn't so isolated my whole existence. Iroh changed that though, I'm not alone anymore."

The aggression in Shukaku's stance ebbs away as he proceeds to talk about this Iroh person's apparent awesomeness. Eventually, Kurama growls in annoyance interrupting the unending deluge of praises.

"You really have changed haven't you, I've never heard you speak pleasantly about anyone else besides yourself. This new form of yours is also much better than your old one, can't see why you ever liked that fat raccoon look."

Shukaku gives Kurama a withering glare before responding.

"Father made me like that, it made sense to keep the form given to me by the only person who ever gave a shit about me! But you know what Kurama," shukaku states while stalking closer

"You are just as obsessed with father as I once was. Clinging to his dreams as if they were your own for nearly a thousand years. Who are you to judge my choices when you are still clinging to the past you fur brained hypocrite." Shukaku states menacingly while standing only a few dozen meters away.

The two towering bijuu lock eyes, seeming to communicate through their stare somehow. The exchange is only broken when five minutes pass and Shukaku spontaneously coughs out a cloud of dark black smoke.

"Goddammit Iroh that stings when I'm not ready...I don't care that you're running out. I was having a moment here and...How is that my fault!"

I look down at Kurama for an explanation but he seems equally baffled by the situation. As the sand dragon continues to seemingly talk to itself realization dawns on Kurama's face and he smacks a palm to his muzzle.

"How did I not realize sooner. It makes too much sense. The fire manipulation, the clever applications of abilities, it all makes sense. You thought up a method that allows you to simultaneously protect your human and have him aid you in combat." Kurama says emphatically

"Iroh is actually the one to come up with the idea. He wanted to help me fight and I wanted to protect him. He found an ingenious compromise that just goes to show why my Iroh is the best human."

"Wait you're not saying-" I begin before Kurama interrupts

"Iroh is inside him, completely protected and yet still able to aid in combat with collaborative techniques. I bet you even set up a system to indicate when he should use fire jutsu, is that why you yelled the name of your attack earlier?" Kurama states with a bit more enthusiasm than I was comfortable with.

 _I have the sneaking suspicion that he wants to try something similar with me but I'm not at all ready for that level of intimacy with Kurama's anatomy. Unless its life or death I'm staying as far away from Kurama's maw as humanly possible. Echidna was nightmare fuel enough for one lifetime as it was._

"As _fascinating_ as this topic of discussion is it doesn't explain why you decided to fly all the way to our village in the first place."

"Well, we wanted to know if you two were serious about this whole village business. If your dream truly is like fathers then you'll need allies. We came to represent the interests of the thirteen great caravans of wind country. Iroh and I are here to discuss the formation of a new village and to create an alliance."

XxxxX XxxxX

After hacking up a slightly miffed twelve-year-old things proceed to get increasingly surreal. The village council and their guards would eventually find the four of us sitting in a clearing enjoying a surprisingly delicious brew of ginseng tea made from a giant kettle made of compacted sand. The council seems to be completely immune to the surreality of the situation. Greeting the strangers as if they were normal people instead of a strange child in a monk's outfit and a towering sand dragon. The group begins discussing the new alliance soon after greeting one another and I can't help but think that things have been going far smoother than anyone could have believed possible. Maybe there was some truth behind calling this place the land of miracles after all.

In the following days, Shukaku and Iroh decide to stay in the village to finalize their proposed trade agreements and to sightsee all the wonders of our blossoming community. During their stay I find myself enraptured by Iroh's descriptions of wind countries lifestyle. Caravan trails apparently stretched across the full breadth of wind country like a tangled spider web, connecting the barren outposts of the desert to the rest of the world and carrying with them Iron and other heavy metals for trade. Iroh had somehow convinced Shukaku to ferry supplies between caravans and had subsequently earned the respect of a vast number of wind countries denizens in a relatively short span of time. The admiration and companionship of Iroh also seem to have positively affected the sand bijuu a great deal since Kurama kept talking about how mellow and relaxed Shukaku had become since last seeing him. The promise of metals was also something that the clans were ecstatic to hear about as many of my worlds technologies relied heavily on such components to work properly. Small experiments had already been done to test some of my more outlandish claims and the results were rather exciting. Like how the Nara managed to get a basic radio system working from my vague descriptions would continue to be a mystery to me but I wasn't really going to argue the point since my own world had tinkers that could casually give the middle finger to physics with as little as a single light bulb and three halves of one toaster. Some things it seems are better to be left a mystery.

XxxxX Bonus XxxxX

Kokuō had an uneasy feeling about his current discovery. The location of the original location where the Shinju tree once stood had long since been lost to time but after hundreds of years searching out the mysteries of the world he knew when something important was before him. In some odd way, this barren crater in the ground was his ancestral ground having technically been once part of the Juubi.

With a shudder Kokuō leaves the silent landscape in a rush, hoping to avoid the thoughts of such monsters behind him.

"I should visit Comei, she always knows how to break these sullen moods. She will probably be pissed though if I show up at her 'secret' hideaway. Why that bug obsesses over her glorified shower I'll never know." Kokuō says to himself while galloping across the land at speeds that were beginning to approach Mach 1.

If there was anything Kokuō appreciated more than a mystery or a cross-country journey it was the exhilaration of running full tilt knowing that he was the fastest living thing on the face of this world. He knew this as fact since he had dedicated most of his life to exploring said world. Maybe one day he would even figure out a way to run faster than sound but it seemed that the ground never wanted to agree with the idea, always disintegrating and tripping him up no matter how much chakra he applied to his hooves.

Far below the resting grounds of the Shinju, a figure of darkness relaxes, having just narrowly avoided detection from one of the more annoying entities birthed from its mother's corpse. Solemnly the creature puts a hand on the last surviving root of the Shinju and breaths in a startled gasp.

 **"Something's changed"** The creature whispers to itself while trying to make sense of the images of the future that were being shown to it.

 **"The Abomination must die before things are ruined any further."** The creature mutters to itself in desperation


	13. Chapter 13: Self-fulfilling

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in"  
\- Proverb

After Shukaku and Iroh's visit to the village production of exotic merchandise ramps up. The influx of metals from wind country has enabled the creation of many of my worlds key foundational devices, an example of which was a surprisingly efficient steam-powered printing press designed by the Uchiha.

The clan had apparently been working on methods to copy scrolls for years but never had the time to maximize their efforts.

The only contentions now where whether or not the village would want to share its knowledge with the rest of the world. Already my teachings were revolutionizing the way citizens in fire country lived, with an abundance of food and tales of our magical devices being spread from the daimyos court it seemed that the world was gazing in our direction.

Even within the village tales of me being some divine being seemed to circulate regularly and I couldn't help but think a certain Inuzuka was responsible. I am always accompanied by hidden guards whenever I go into a public area and no matter how stealthy I try to be I always garner a crowd of onlookers who gawk at the 'one-armed spirit'.

It seemed that the only times of peace were when I decide to watch Hashirama and Kurama beat the crap out of each other. Something about the extreme violence was relaxing in a way that I find hard to describe.

It's probably my passenger's fault but understanding that alien presence was a futile endeavor and I had a feeling that even it didn't know exactly what it was doing most of the time. My attention shifts as the inevitable mid-battle banter starts up.

"Face it brat, you're never going to beat me. Humans simply aren't equipped to fight at the same level us bijuu can. Why do you continually insist on these pointless sparring matches when you know what the outcome will be?" Kurama says vindictively while smashing a tail through a wall of mokuton created branches.

"The outcome of this battle is yet to be determined fuzzball! I the mighty Hashirama have discovered a power long lost to time and will stop your evil rein!" Hashirama proclaims in a childishly forced low baritone that sounds utterly ridiculous, all the while expertly dodging errant swipes of Kurama's claws.

He then proceeds to go on a monologue on the virtues of good and evil while Kurama begins to ramp up his assault, even beginning to use underpowered bijuu dama.  
A few minutes of escalation pass before a familiar presence enters the area adjacent to the makeshift battlefield.

"Hashirama has been reading far too many story books as of late. I told him that he was mad but does he ever listen to me, Nooo, what do I know it's not like I can see chakra with my eyes or anything!" Madara proclaims while staring at the two with obvious dread.

"This isn't the first time Hashirama's done something stupid, what's he doing now that's got you so worried?" I ask conversationally

"That idiot said he invented a way to use natural energy and intended to use it to finally beat Kyuubi. When I tried to stop him that bastard trapped me in a damned sakura tree!" Madara says while his pinwheel eyes spin faster in accordance with his anger

A shift in the air occurs that feels like an intangible breeze and suddenly the fighting pauses.

Looking over I spot Kurama looking worriedly at a hunched over Hashirama. With a burst of speed Madara picks me up easily and lands beside Hashirama's hunched form. Some kind of tattoos were propagated from his forehead and were slowly engulfing his body. All the while that strange incorporeal air current was getting stronger by the minute.

"His technique isn't complete yet, he can't regulate the influx of nature chakra!" Madara frantically says to the both of us.

"Why the hell were you two experimenting with senjutsu?! Have I not warned you enough about nature chakras dangers!"

"He got inspiration for the technique when he learned about Skitters condition, we thought you were exaggerating the dangers of nature chakra but even so he did put safeties in I swear!" Madara says desperately

Kurama bigins berating the boy but I tune out the conversation, focusing instead on the etheric wind that was starting to become a gale. Unconsciously my hand falls onto Hashirama's sweaty forehead and a sensation infuses my being. The feeling was pure adrenaline and euphoria rolled into one and all thought escapes me while I desperately drink in the undiluted ambrosia.

Noises try to break me away from the source but they are easily ignored. I sink deeper into the side of me that feels hunger and grin as the world falls into view of my true sight once again. The colors of the world flowing and intermingling with each other, funneling into the body of the container even as I siphon it off as my own.

The creature with red eyes makes more noises at me but its light means nothing to me so I ignore it. My obvious disinterest at the unimportant creature seems to anger it as the thing claws and punches at me but I am untouchable while the light of the forest is coursing through me.

Walking into my field of view a globe of light fills my vision, its color oddly familiar and comforting. It too makes noises at me but the vibrations don't quite make sense, still, I find myself transfixed, simply staring blankly at its blazing essence.

 ** _Crack_**

My world becomes a blur as I tumble and flip through the air, smashing my way through several trees before finally smacking face first into the dirt. The ephemeral lights of the world slowly bleeding away, leaving me a confused bundle of bruises and whiplash.

"What the hell! I said to move her not kill her!" Madara bemoans

I whine-grunt in an affirming way while still face down, making clear exactly how I was feeling at the moment.

"See Skitter just fine, she'll walk it off in no time. Besides that much nature energy being passed around I'd be surprised if she took any serious damage. Speaking of which,"

I slowly manage to look up past the fallen trees Id just been smacked through in time for me to view Kurama picking up a sheepish looking Hashirama in a clawed fist.

"If you are so foolish as to go messing around with sage arts then you will need to learn it properly. In fact, I think it would be an insult to father's legacy if you brats didn't learn some senjutsu at some point,"

Turning in my direction Kurama gives me a speculative look before nodding once.

"You will be going as well, maybe you can get some control over your urges with some training."  
"Wait where are we going? Can't we do this training here?" Madara asks confusedly

"The place we must go to is far from here and secreted away from you humans. Also, I won't be the one teaching you as I never learned the art myself. No you lot will be learning from the same source that father learned sage arts from."

I groan in a halfway confirmatory way before flopping onto my back.

 _It's times like this that I really envy normal peoples lives. They don't have to deal with this kind of bullcrap on a daily basis._

XxxxX XxxxX

We stop by the council chambers to inform them of our intention to leave the village for a couple of months. They weren't exactly happy at the news but they also aren't in any position to really stop us so instead they simply helped supply us for our journey. Our destination was someplace called mount Myōboku which was home of the toad animal summons. The leader of the clan is named Gamamaru and this being was apparently the same one that taught the sage how to use nature energy over a thousand years ago.

All too soon we found ourselves riding on Kurama's head, moving across the land at speeds that easily outstripped my old worlds highway speeds and leaving us heavily windblown. Small talk is a rare occurrence for the first few hours but eventually, Hashirama breaks the relative silence.

"If this toad boss is so old then how can you be sure that he will remember you?"

"I have no misconceptions that Gamamaru will remember me, he barely remembers what century he's in anymore. We will likely have to talk with his descendants for your sage arts training."

"If that is the case then how can you be so sure that they will agree to train us?" Madara replies in turn

"There are several reasons, one is that the toads are very proud of their history and for good reason. From what father told us the toads were instrumental in unlocking his full power and subsequently enabling him and uncle Hamura to defeat Kaguya."

"Wait who is this uncle Hamura? Are you saying that the sage had a brother?! Why don't the history books talk about him?" Hashirama explains

"Personally I never met the man, he left on some mission before father created us. Now as I was saying the other reasons that the toads will help you is because if they don't then I will tell the whole world how to get into their secret heaven."

"That sounds like a rather lackluster reason to help us. Is it really that big a deal if you reveal their location?" I ask

"If I didn't already know how to enter their lands it would literally be impossible for us to get there. Mount Myoboku might as well be in its own pocket dimension for how well hidden it is."

"I'm surprised you're not going for a, 'do as I say or I'll destroy you' approach, given how well that's worked out for you thus far." Madara comments with wry humor

"Listen here brat-"

"Ya, you've even got your own name for it, 'Bijuu diplomacy'!" Hashirama interrupts while mimicking Kurama's deep baritone as best he is able

Suddenly Kurama stops his run and slowly raises a hand toward his head before casually flicking the boys off his skull with deadly precision, sending them shooting toward the ground in a tumbling heap.

He then proceeds to continue his run at a more sedate pace, all the while distant cries of disbelief and astonishment startup behind us.

"That's going to slow us down ya know," I say without sympathy

"If they learn even a little bit of respect the delay will be worth every second."

The form of a small wooden dragon carrying two overly enthusiastic boys rockets ahead of us, seemingly having been thrown by some kind of mokuton catapult. The thing looked rigid and unanimated unlike the more advanced elemental techniques and soon began to plummet downward out of the sky before suddenly a concentrated jet of fire jutsu erupts out the backend and sends the construct rocketing back into the sky.

"I think there is a slight flaw in your reasoning." I deadpan as I watch the makeshift plane maneuver haphazardly above us.

Kurama grumbles something under his breath and continues on at his full speed once again.

The entry to the land of the toads is a narrow valley hidden near the top of a great mountain range and once we approached said entry a toad the size of an elephant appears from thin air.

"Welcome Kurama, Hashirama, Madara and even you as well Taylor. We've been expecting you."

 _Wait how do they know my name? Kurama should be the only one besides the boys who know it._

"Maybe that geezer isn't as senile as I thought." Kurama mutters halfheartedly

AN: Sorry the chapters a short one this time, I also haven't had time to look over it much but I feel bad when updates get set back so here ya go.

Next Chapter: Prophecy


	14. Chapter 14: Prophecy

And let thy feet millenniums hence, be set in midst of knowledge  
\- lord Tennyson

Passing through the entryway into the valleys of mount Myoboku reveals a land teeming with greenery and life. Every kind of insect I could fathom seemed to flit about the place, moving with a purpose-filled rhythm that gave my mind an odd sort of peace. The very air seemed to give off an unearthly aroma that left me drifting in a haze. Eventually, I find the strength to push the building hunger down and reorient myself to the present where our giant toad escort was talking with Kurama as he leads us through the strange new environment.

"-Still the geezer sage has never been wrong before with this sort of thing. If he says something has to be done a specific way then it isn't our right to criticise his decisions." the giant toad finishes

"But if his prophecies are always 100% accurate then why would talking about the details make a difference? Do our choices even matter if fate is an actual force within the world?" Madara questions solemnly

"The old geezer calls it 'threading the needle of fate'. When you can see the future, every action you take has to be precise and deliberate or else things go… well, let's just say 'bad'. As long as he follows the path given to him then he can cause a domino effect that leads to the future he predicts." The escort says while hopping over a particularly large mushroom-tree like plant.

My thoughts grind to a screeching halt as the implications of the statement dawn on me.  
 _Could Gamamaru have something similar to Contessa's power? Is that even possible?_

 _What if Contessa dropped me on this world with a purpose in mind._ I had always imagined that she was just tossing me haphazard onto whatever world had been convenient but now that I thought about it that didn't make sense.

Sure the fate of the earth and its parallels weren't in danger any longer but that didn't mean there weren't other threats out there in the cosmos. _Hell if Kurama was correct then even this world faced similar threats._

My introspection is broken when Kurama stops walking, looking up I find the visage of a stone temple looming ominously above us.

"Gamamaru has asked that you see him in three separate groups. First Hashirama and Madara will meet him as one group then Kurama as a second group and finally Taylor."

"Wait, why do we have to split up like that?! We all trust each other, shouldn't we just all meet him at once?" Hashirama proclaims

"Just shut up and go already, there are things I wish to talk with Gamamaru privately anyway." Kurama huffs while his brows bunch in a show of thoughtfulness and slight confusion

The two boys enter the temple while Kurama and I wait in silence. Fifteen minutes pass by in a flash before a thoroughly unamused toad appears at the entrance. He is wearing a blue coat that vaguely resembles a bathrobe and strapped to his back are the two boys. The toad was only just large enough to carry the two but he seemed resigned to his duty.

"I've been tasked with taking these two troublemakers to the sage training grounds about a mile north of here. If you want you can meet us there when you're done talking with Gamamaru, he said you'd be fine with me taking them off your hands for a while." The toad says with a sigh

Taking a closer look at the boys I see that they are thoroughly entrapped, having been hogtied and in Madras' case, blindfolded as well. All in all, they didn't seem too distressed and Hashirama seemed to be suppressing laughter so I ignored the whole thing in favor of looking at Kurama for his response.

"Just..take them. I'll find them when I need them." Kurama says slowly with his eyes closed in exasperation.

Soon after Kurama enters the temple without so much as a backward glance. This time the wait is much longer, after the first hour of standing around I find a seat in the form of a stumpy mushroom-shrub thing and nearly fall asleep on its spongy surface.

Finally, Kurama exits the temple, brows knit together again but this time showcasing deep contemplation. I get up to talk with him but he just looks in my direction before shaking his head and walking off in the direction of the supposed sage training grounds.

With a slightly more cautious air than before, I walk through the temple archway and into a room whose back wall was lined with giant scrolls. In the center of the room, a throne-like seat stood, made mostly of simple stone with gold accents. On top of the seat sat a wizened figure, slightly hunched and with eyes that gave the impression of unfunctionality.

The only thing mitigating the sheer presence of the massive creature was the strange hat and necklace it bore alongside its friendly smile.

"Come closer child, there is nothing to be afraid of here." a wry tone emanates deeply from the elder toad.

Mentally I note the irritation at basically being called a scared child but I ignore it because that was probably the intended effect. With a measured pace, I place myself about fifteen feet away from the steps of his seat and wait for him to speak again.

"I know, I know. Ominous speeches and prophecies are not what you want to hear, but that is not all I can do. Speak any questions you like and I will do my best to answer them." The elder replies seriously

Thinking for a moment I decide to start with something simple.

"How far does your sight really go if you are having me ask questions? Couldn't you just predict what I would say?"

"My sight goes as far as I want it to when connected to the world like I am there isn't a limit to how short or how far into the future I can see. Just because I have the ability doesn't mean I use it frivolously. It is a dangerous thing farseeing, one can so easily lose the present if you're not careful."

"When you say 'connected to the world', are you using this sage mode thing that Kurama keeps talking about?"

"In a way, yes, but as someone like Hashirama might connect to a forest for energy I connect with the entire world at once. To intermingle with nature is to be connected to life and all life is connected, at least in this world it is." The elder trails off speculatively at the end

"Does that mean you can see other worlds? Can you tell me about my friends or family from my old world?" I ask with a little too much force in my voice

"I could, but telling you will not bring you any happiness. Tell me, would you abandon what you have here to go to them if it means leaving this world forever?"

It took only a moment of contemplation to get my answer.

"No, I was a monster to them at the end. It's probably best that I'm gone. But that still leaves the question of why I'm here in the first place. What was Contessa's plan for me and why this world?"

"Ah, you mean the women with the hat correct? I do remember seeing glimpses of her when I looked into your arrival. I can't say what her mentality was but I can tell you that your presence will have and already has had a _great impact_ on this world of ours." The elder seemed to find some secret amusement from those words but he continues again soon after

"You have the potential to be this worlds doom locked within you, your passenger is a danger not unlike Kaguya once was. It is trying to make itself whole but this worlds chakra will not fill that void in the way it wants."

"Then how do I fix it? Why is it so obsessed with chakra?"

"Because if it can learn how chakra is generated by living things on this world it will have gained the answer it was built to help solve. The beings you call entities only ever cared about one thing, and that was the solution to stopping entropy."

"So you are saying that chakra is the solution to the heat death of the universe. That's great and all but that doesn't tell me what I'm supposed to do to help my passenger."

"I'm afraid that speaking that answer has great consequences and I would rather avoid those. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Worry not though, I've given Kurama what he needs to know and everything will fall into place as it should in the end. Trust him and if you have any more questions you can find me here, now go see to those boys. They will need your unique skills if they are to survive their reckless enthusiasm for playing with natural energy."

With great reluctance, I walk out of the elder toads temple and meander my way toward the direction of the supposed training grounds.

XxxxX Earlier with Kurama XxxxX  
~

"How can you tell me these things and not expect me to become angry! This is unacceptable!"

"You know as well as I do that this event can not and should not be avoided, the fate of the world hangs in the balance and you knew that this would occur one day regardless."

"...I thought there would be more time."

"I'm sorry Kurama, truly I am. But this catastrophe is beyond the bounds of just one world. For this plan to work she has to die"

AN: Im sorry I do these things, waiting so long for such a short chapter and all but ive just not had the time to work on this like I want. This was originally part of the previous chapter but I wanted to make sure things played out the way I wanted. I plan for the story to be about 100K so this is about the halfway point if all things go to plan, I hope Ill be able to surprise you all with whats to come


	15. Chapter 15: Convergent Evolution

"If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?"  
\- Seymour Cray (1925-1996), father of supercomputing

With slow meandering steps, the paths of the forest gives way and guides me in the direction of the training ground. The distance was barely a mile away and I could already sense Kurama and the boys sitting by some kind of lake. I take time and ponder the toad sage's words as I make slow progress through the alien foliage.

My passenger's nature energy fixation was starting to make a little sense now, but there was a lot of context being withheld by the toad elder. For example, Kurama explained to me that chakra is (or rather, supposed to be) generated from anything that is alive, and after our last Ninshu debacle he all but confirmed that my passenger qualified as being alive in its own strange way.

So why couldn't it generate its own chakra? Did it just need a bunch of raw chakra to kickstart its own? My shard's body was incomprehensively vast so maybe a proportional amount of chakra was needed to jumpstart the process. Gamamaru said that the whole world wouldn't be enough though, so what other options were there to resolve the issue of my passengers' chakra fixation?

I would ask the toad sage more specific questions later but I had suspicions that he was simply following a predetermined path and didn't actually know the specifics of my situation.

A few of my kikaichu suddenly disappear from my senses, causing a reverberation of fear to flow through their queen who was hidden in my hair. The emotional echo startles me away from my thoughts and stops me mid-step. Directing the queen of my kikaichu to my palm I try deciphering what just happened. Never before had one of my insects injected emotions into me, in fact, it was usually the opposite.

I direct the bulk of my kikaichu closer to my position while simultaneously using the naturally occurring insect species to more thoroughly scout out the cause of the disappearances. A group of relatively small toads were hanging around a small outcropping of boulders nearby, and from the sounds of their voices and size, I guessed that they were adolescents of the species.

"Really! Did you seriously just eat that off the ground!" One of the toads screeches to another other

"What? It smelled delicious and I saw you eyeing it up! Your just jealous that you didn't get any!" Another responds while the rest watch the argument with amusement

"You know what Ma says, never eat unfamiliar bugs. If those were poisonous or had parasites you would have to be dragged to the healer's hut and I'm the one who'd have to drag you there!"

Something about the tone in their voices made me curious and I found myself wondering about the lifestyles of these sapient animals. Curiosity got the better of me and I found myself wandering close to their positions.

"They aren't poisonous but they do have a tendency for burrowing into flesh to make their hives," I say informatively from right behind them, having approached from out of their sightlines.

A majority of the group become startled and scatter, hopping haphazardly through the clearing of boulders and back into the forests surrounding us. The three remaining individuals group up into a squad and turn in my direction before stopping in apparent shock.

"HOLY CRAP ITS A HUMAN!" the toad who ate my bugs yells

"We have eyes too idiot. You don't have to yell captain obvious. And did you miss the last bit it said about the bugs you just ate." The third toad said while giving a vindictive grin.

The toad named Goro pales considerably and before panic can set in I proceed to reassure the little guy.

"Don't worry they don't burrow unless a queen directs them to and the only one on the mountain is mine. Still, it'd be nice for you to refrain from eating my kikaichu, they are my favorite insects." I say cajolingly.

"Sorry about that, my brother doesn't know any better. He sees something that will fit in his mouth and he just goes for it." The second toad apologizes.

"Hey I resemble that remark," Goro says while regaining some of his colors.

"Anyway my name is Goro, my _loving_ sister here is Ponyo and back there is Yaro but you can ignore him," Goro says while pointing out his companions.

"So does this mean that the toads are getting a new summoner then? Be kinda awkward with a bug user but I've heard of weirder summoner relationships I guess." Yaro comments disinterestedly while eyeing me speculatively.

"No, sorry. I'm visiting with some friends though. They might become summoners I suppose but I don't actually know much about that contract system you've got going on. We only just arrived this morning."

Just as I finish my sentence a bramble of trees juts out of the horizon, drawing the attention of everyone present and causing the three toads to gape in a mix of astonishment and awe.

"That would be Hashirama. I was hoping for a little bit of free time but I probably should make sure those idiots don't kill themselves." I say with a long-suffering sign.

Turning around, I begin jogging into the direction of the training ground. The three toads begin talking to themselves in hushed voices before quickly deciding to follow my path toward the lake, easily keeping pace with my admittedly lackluster human speed limit.

"You know it's rude to not even give your name before leaving us like that. You're the most interesting thing we've seen all year, there is no way we are just going to let you brush us off just like that!" Ponyo states while hoping alongside me.

"My names Taylor." I manage to get out between breaths as we enter the training area.

Hashirama seems to be off to the side with his head hanging down in the universal sign of disappointment. Meanwhile, Madara was sitting next to some kind of fountain, a toad somewhat resembling Yoda rubbing some kind of oily substance into his forearm.

 **"So finally finished your talk with the geezer have you? I'm sure you found your talk with him enlightening."** Kurama notes from off to one side of the area, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Not really. I get the feeling that I'm being left in the dark actually." I say while catching my breath.

"That old frog doesn't know anything! He's probably senile like you said before Kurama!" Madara yells over to me before being smacked in the head with a black pole by the toad.

"I warned you, one more frog comment and I'll stop this training right now brat." Yoda toad yells while still focusing squarely on Madara.

"He's just butthurt because the geezer sage told him that he had to give up his eyes to reach his full potential," Hashirama says while looking up in my direction and pausing at the sight of my little hangers-on.

Following his gaze, I notice that the toad squads focus is set upon Kurama's gargantuan bulk, which at the moment was reaching nearly the same height as the trees surrounding the clearing.

After a moment the three speakers in turn with one another.  
"He's."  
"So."  
"FLUFFY!" Ponyo squeals last and hops on top of Kurama's forearm.

Kurama flinches agitatedly and tries to shake off the offending toad while growling something obscene under his breath.

"Ponyo get off of him! What are you kids even doing here! This is a sacred place!" the Yoda toad says while hopping off to intervene in the escalating situation, leaving a panicking Madara in his wake.

I notice the subtle flow of nature chakra growing more condensed and chaotic within him and subsequently run over to tast- HELP him control the rapidly destabilizing energy. The familiar sensation of concentrated nature energy suffuses my being, once again leaving me in a mental haze.

The next thing I know a wall of orange fur smashes into me, sending me flying into the pool of dirty oily water. The moment the water touches my skin my world becomes pain and confusion. My senses give contradictory inputs leaving me unable to tell which direction is up. Panic overrides my conscious thoughts causing me to inhale water into my lungs, yet somehow the sensation didn't bring discomfort. My swarm sense is all but lost to me except for a single connection to the queen kikaichu who was grasping at my palm as if its life depended on it.

The feeling of panic seemed to originate again from the queens perspective, its instincts demanding it to hide and create shelter. With no direction being given by my disoriented mind the queen did what its instincts were telling it to do. A dull pain flares in my wrist casing another involuntary inhale of the liquid I was suspended in.

Visions of a man with ringed pupils enter my mind just as the world fades to black.

XxxxX XxxxX

I am awoken by the sounds of muffled voices and the faint smell of something being cooked. Blinking blearily I take in the room I found myself occupying. There was a single small window off to the side which is set within a concave wall, almost like the building was circular or dome-shaped. Other than the window there wasn't much else to the room beside a door and the mat I was currently lying upon. I start taking stock of myself, instinctively turning on my swarm sense and subsequently relaxing at the influx of warmth and contentment radiating from my arm.

 _Wait_

With mounting dread I face my arm toward the window, exposing it to the light and giving me a view of the new holes adorning my skin.

Cursing under my breath I drop my arm away from the light and direct my ire to the insect now inhabiting my limb.

The blast of irritation from me startles the queen out of its contented mood and causes it to shudder in chastised disappointment sending an unsettling vibration through my arm.

 _"Sorry,"_ says a voice through the link, sounding as if it were on the verge of tears

The gears of my mind come screeching to a halt at the voice that was clearly not my own. This didn't make sense, how could my queen even produce coherent emotions with its tiny nervous system, let alone actual human speech partners. My first thought was that my passenger was the culprit but once that thought entered my mind I somehow knew it to be false on an instinctual level. The voice sounded young and scared, and the emotions pouring through my link to the queen kikaichu were those of a child waiting for punishment after having done something wrong.

Movement in my periphery stops my thoughts as I instinctively glance at the doorway.

The voices outside the room have stopped and a pair of toads are standing by the now opened door, showcasing the Yoda lookalike and a female toad with odd purple hair.

"Come, child, dinner is waiting and I'm sure you'd like something to fill your belly after the day you've had." the purple haired toad announces in a kind tone.

Taking a deep breath I cradle my arm to my chest and follow the two into what seems to be a dining area.

"A lot has happened these past few days, most of which seems to revolve around you in some way or another. You can call me Ma, by the way, this here is Pa but he lost his voice yesterday after yelling at the youngsters." Ma jovially explains while guiding me to a seat around a dinner table.

Pa signs exasperatedly while rubbing his throat idly

"I'm fine really," Pa replies in a half whisper half craok

"Anyway, Taylor we'd like to offer you a place to stay while you recover. That spill at the sage grounds could have left lasting damage to your body, putting it frankly you shouldn't be alive right now. That much nature chakra should have petrified just about anything living. The only reason we even got you out of the fountain was because Kurama lifted you out. Though to be fair I heard that he was the one to put you in there in the first place." Ma says while preparing the dining table with plates and wooden silverware.

"Thank you, I appreciate it...I'm sorry if I seem distracted, there is just a lot going on right now that I'm trying to figure out."

"Let me guess, one of those things on your mind involves that," Pa says while looking at my arm knowingly

"Yes, that's part of it."

Ma takes a pot from a counter behind us and sets it on the dining table, showcasing a pot of stewed insects the size of bananas. I stare at the pot for a moment more while the two gather together their own plates. With great reluctance I take one of the insects and place it on my plate, taking a subtle sniff of it before setting it down.

 _Huh, It actually doesn't smell as bad as I imagined_.

"Normally we'd eat these while they are still fresh but given your abilities we've tried our best to accommodate," Ma tells me in her motherly tone

Given the effort they'd likely gone through to take care of me I mustered the will to take a bite out of the giant centipede-worm hybrid. Surprisingly it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever eaten but it was pretty close.

"Thanks, I really appreciate all this. I'm not sure how to repay you though."

"Think nothing of it, its rare enough that we have guests. It's probably been 50 years since we last had human guests." Ma replies easily

I mentally reeled at the statement, it seemed like these two couldn't be any older than their sixties but on second thought aging might not be all that big a problem for the toads given how old Gamamaru is.

Before I could ask questions about their true ages a pang of curiosity and hunger entered my mind coming from the kikaichu queen.

"Yeah okay, here," I say under my breath while surreptitiously leaving a small bit of insect close to one of the new hive holes on my wrist.

Pa seemed to notice my action and sighed meaningfully at Ma who nodded back in return.

The rest of the meal was eaten in comfortable silence and at the end, Pa took the dishes outside leaving Ma and me alone.

"Taylor honey, there are some things that we suspect may be happening to you. Kurama's given us a rundown of all that he knows about your...unique circumstances and somewhat alien physiology. He knows that Pa and myself are some of the best natural energy experts in the entire world, with only Gamamaru being our better."

Pa reenters the house with cleaned plates, seemingly only having gone to the front porch and back. Strangely the path outside their home seemed to be soaked as if a fire hose had gone off in front of their house. Before I can contemplate that observation further Pa enters into the conversation in his slightly raspy voice.

"You seem to be constantly intaking nature energy as if you were beginning sage mode. The problem is that the natural energy isn't given time to collect within your body, it's all funneling out into your passengers seal."

"My passengers what?" I ask confusedly

"Ah sorry, what I meant was a pocket dimension. Kurama's descriptions used seal theory as a basis to convey what he thought was happening."

"Wait, since when does Kurama know anything about seals? He's never talked to me about it before."

"Well, Hashirama said he's been working on some things with Kurama involving seals. Though to be fair I thought he was referring to his bastardized sage mode seals. My guess is that Kurama has been learning some fuinjutsu theory whenever Hashirama bounces ideas off of him after their sparring sessions. Regardless, the whole funneling of nature chakra out of your body has left side effects."

"Go on please," I say while taking a deep breath, waiting for the inevitable bad news.

"Your body has adapted to the constant influx of natural energy. We believe that your body has become dependent on it, there is a chance it may even be fatal for you to stop taking in natural energy. That being said you are also able to take in more chakra than can be siphoned off by your passenger, leaving you in a state similar to sage mode." Ma explains calmly.

"Now given how long you've gone without any major problems we are under the assumption that you are relatively safe from the usual side effects of long-term nature chakra exposure."

"That all sounds nice but I get the feeling that's not all you wanted to talk about."

"The problem is that you aren't the only one being affected by your nature energy intake," Ma says while giving my arm a significant glance.

"Your little friend in there has been in close proximity to you for some time now. Taking in unnatural amounts of natural energy. The increased ambient levels of chakra here along with the toad oils' potent amplification potential has caused something rather miraculous."

"We believe that your queen is evolving in a similar manner to that of the original summon animals." Ma says with finality.

AN: Thank you Flere821 for the beta readthrough, much appreciated! The next chapter may take a while given my dwindling real life free-time. As always Id love to hear peoples thoughts, wild speculation, or even just wishes for things to see in the story. The comments give me motivation so don't be afraid to speak up, even if its scathing criticism.


	16. Chapter 16: Extended Family

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.  
-Albert Einstein

"I'm not sure I follow you, are you saying that my queen is turning into a summon animal?"

"Not quite dear, to be a summon animal requires a contract be written and formalized with the participants' blood. The toads, snakes, and slugs are widely regarded as the Elite summon animals because our ancestors were the first to be affected by the Shinju's accumulation of natural energy and thus have had more time to better ourselves." Ma says chidingly.

"I think Kurama mentioned something about the Shinju before. Didn't it have something to do with the sage's mother or something?"

"Yes, Kaguya came to power using the Shinju. We do not know what she was or how she managed to utilize said power but in the end, the sage and his brother ended the threat that the tree and Kaguya presented to the world."

"After the cataclysm of their final battle, there were few spots left on our world that had sufficient nature energy to birth intelligent species. Our clan, along with the snakes and slugs made our homes on some of the last naturally occurring wellsprings of nature energy. This also means that the evolutionary leap is quite a rare occurrence and sadly newly sentient species have a habit of devastating their own habitats before they learn the consequences of their actions."

"Sometimes the species get lucky and are found by a ninja clan who are willing to support or guide them. For instance, the shark clan almost went extinct due to their shift from solo predators to highly efficient pack hunters. Had the Hoshigaki not found them so early on the sharks would have burned through their local food sources and collapsed their ecosystems' food chain."

"...Okay, that makes sense for new species, but then why would you have a summon contract? Wasn't your clan fairly settled by the time the contract system even came about? Why would you need or even want a contract?" I say after pausing to sort through my thoughts.

"There are many reasons why we maintain the contract system, humans have such a high affinity for innovation that it would be foolish not to associate with you to at least some degree. Additionally, when the idea of a summon contract was first being introduced to us Gamamaru foresaw that we would need to utilize human techniques and industry to stay ahead of the snake clans advances, as they have long since coveted the warm rocky terrain of Mount Myoboku."

"Let's save the history lessons for another time dear, there are more pressing matters that should be taken care of first. Firstly, your little one needs a name. Its life quite literally rests in your hands and these first weeks will be crucial for its mental development." Ma replies with somber reassurance.

The dining room falls into a comfortable silence while I idly explore the new openings dotting my arm, all the while contemplating the new bright beacon of consciousness within. My eyes easily shift into their starscape form with the queen so close and I note that small portions of nature energy were being diverted to my tenant. Investigating further I cast my swarm sense outward and take in my queens shining presence, questions and impressions overflowing through the queen's bond alongside a smattering of her emotions.

She had mostly tuned out our conversation because everything was so new and confusing to her. Instincts demanded that she forage for food -Chakra- to bring back to her home/mother but she could feel the constant overflow of energy suffusing my body. This conflict of desire and knowledge drove my queen to pull on our connection, speaking to me in a small voice that reverberated quietly through my mind's eye.

 _"Help?"_

The slightly mispronounced word confuses me for a moment before I read the intentions behind them, she was adamant on the idea of helping me and protecting me in any way she could. I try to send back reassurance but she seems to have interpreted the impression strangely because soon after I can feel/see her focus shift into a singular bright ball of desire.

The brightness of my eyes double in luminosity, casting faint light into the dim dining room as the currents of constantly flowing nature energy become veritable rapids beneath my skin. I can feel the mind-numbing hunger at the edge of my consciousness seeping in but my queen diverted the foreign thoughts with her sheer focus and determination at her self-made task of gathering natural energy.

The two toad sages before me gaze at the spectacle with calculating eyes, seemingly unconcerned with whatever was happening.

"We had suspicions that your queen may have developed senjutsu like abilities given its survival in your bodies potent natural energy environment. I suppose this confirms the theory. Really isn't too surprising given that even in the wild kikaichu are highly adaptive chakra vores. Still, I doubt that your queen would survive long if it weren't for your own constant funneling off of the excess." Ma says while eyeing my retinas with interest.

"This feels so incredible!" I say while my queens' excitement bleeds into my emotions.

With a lurch the excess intake of energy stops, in its wake, I feel an exhausted sense of pride from my queen alongside another mental word.

 _"Protect"_

I stew over the slight invasion my queens' emotions caused, it reminded me too much of what I had done as Khepri. At the same time though, her influence also blunted the hunger pangs which meant that I could utilize at least part of the sage mode without losing my mind to my passengers' influence.

Experience showed just how potent nature chakra was, even if I couldn't mold it. Having been smacked through several trees by Kurama during that training day really showcased just how powerful nature energy could be when I was overflowing with it.

Finally, I pick a name for my queen, one that I couldn't help but recall after my thoughts had drifted to Khepri and how my queens' presence protected me from the poisonous influence of my passengers obsessions.

"How do you like the name Sepa?" I ask quietly to the now tired insect queen.

A soft flutter of her wings is all the confirmation I need to know she approves.

XxxxX XxxxX

The following days are a nightmare as I try figuring out what to do with Sepa. Her instincts were still as strong as ever, things that were routine before now had much stronger implications. For instance, I only barely stopped her before she started laying her usual set of eggs to replenish the aging swarm. Normally the drones in our hive would last a month at max so replacements were necessary on a regular basis, thankfully queen kikaichu were selectively chosen for their ability to reproduce at will. She was now changing into an entirely different species though and who knows what would happen with her progeny. I did not feel responsible enough for becoming a pseudo-grandmother to ten thousand grandchildren just yet.

Additionally, she was constantly interrupting my thoughts with inane questions and she seemed overjoyed to play the 'Why game' that all children seem to learn.

"We are going to visit our friends today Sepa, so I want you to settle down all right?"

"Why?" Sepa replies with her somewhat quiet voice

"Because I want their help."

"Why?"

"Because they know much more about different types of summon animals than I do."

"Why?

"Because they- Look Sepa, can you just listen to me, please? I really need to think right now."

"...Why?"

I sign while trying to figure out what to do with Sepa, she learned at an extraordinary rate and could even glean information from our bond but I was worried I might ruin her development if she learned only from my thoughts. I also didn't know whether to treat her like the human child she sounded like or to treat her like a battle partner that she was adamant in becoming. Telling her that I didn't plan on becoming involved with any battles did not dissuade her at all and she used one of the memories Id accidentally let slip against me, showing a giant sand dragon shooting a beam of blinding light right toward me.

Touché Sepa, Touché

~

Entering the sage training grounds for the second time I stop and stare at the odd spectacle before me. Kurama is half submerged in the oil lake, eyes closed and brows scrunched in concentration. At the same time, Hashirama and Madara are sitting across from one another on top of Kurama's head, fists bumping in the telltale indicator of Kurama's style of ninshu.

Off to the side, I see Pa watching the three, glancing my way he gives a wave for me to head over to him.

"What are those three up to, is this some sort of weird sage training thing?" I ask while walking toward the elderly toad.

"Hmm, not quite. They are trying to see if ninshu and sage mode can be combined. Usually, nature energy allows more potent forms of Jutsu to be performed, so they engineered a test for what might happen with ninshu." Pa replies

"Couldn't that be dangerous though? They are messing with mind-altering techniques and a field of chakra application that hasn't been thoroughly studied at all. Why even let them do this." I ask slightly concerned.

Pa simply gives me a look before responding.

"You think I could stop any of them once they had their minds set on this? Ha!"

Fairpoint, still I was curious about what they were doing and activated my eyes, turning them into their starscape form and causing Sepa to stir agitatedly at the sudden shift as I share my perspective with her.

The two boys were completely enshrouded in a blazing inferno of chakra their bodies only just still visible through the haze, their colors intermixing in bursts of dazzling radiance. Kurama below them wasn't quite as obscured through his own cloak of collected nature energy, but his natural brightness still provided obfuscation enough that looking at him was like standing two feet away from a hundred watt light bulb.

Minutes passed by like this as Sepa and I gaze at the conflagration of colors, all the while hunger starts to gnaw at the corners of my mind.

Eventually, their lights dim and the three begin to stir slowly out of their positions. With eery synchronicity the three turn in my direction and stare at me with a frown before they seem to notice each others reaction and shake off the lingering side effects.

I deactivate my eyes just as Madara and Hashirama jump down and dash over to me. Kurama steps out of the oil pool soon after and shakes himself off like a wet dog. Still, the oil clings to him leaving greasy swaths of unruly fur and he grumbles unhappily at his soaked coat.

"Heya Sensai, how's it going! Pa told us about your queen's changes, how is she doing!" Hashirama says with exuberance.

"It's nice to see that you are going well Sensia, what brings you here though?" Madara says right after Hashirama.

I give Sepa the okay to come out and she proceeds to dart straight for Madara who with a flash of red eyes dodges expertly out of the way leaving Hashirama to take the brunt of the tiny insects' charge. Hashirama lands flat on his back from the force of the blow while Madara gapes at the tiny insect who was climbing all over Hashirama's chest.

"Ya, she is hopped up on nature energy right now. I figured you wouldn't mind letting her vent a little bit of excess energy. Her name is Sepa by the way."

"WAIT she can use senjutsu! You can use senjutsu!?" Hashirama exclaims out loud before addressing Sepa directly.

Sepa simply laughs for a moment before something catches her attention and she flys off in Kurama's direction. Kurama bristles slightly at first but relaxes as Sepa seems to have occupied herself with the oil coating his fur, causing it to evaporate at an accelerated rate whenever she got near it.

Turning away from the odd spectacle of Sepa grooming Kurama I address the boys.

"I wanted to know if you two had any advice in regards to raising an intelligent species like her. I've already talked a bit with the toads but I want to get as much information as I can."

"Well the Inuzuka come to mind but I think their style is to have partners chosen when they are babies. They learn stuff together throughout their lives and just kinda play to each other's strengths I guess." Hashirama quips while sitting up and folding his arms across his chest.

"Probably shouldn't be saying this since its a clan secret and all but, eh. My clan has had sporadic success creating semi-sentient crow species via heavy genjutsu influence on the minds of developing chicks. Don't know how applicable that would be here but still." Madara explains uncaringly.

"My own influence is bad enough, I don't think compounding genjutsu mind manipulation on top of everything else will end well," I reply with a tinge of heat.

"Hey you asked, it's not like most ninjas are experts on bug phycology...Well maybe the Aburame are but I doubt even they would know what to do with..." Madara says before trailing off as his gaze drifts in Kurama's direction.

Turning to look I spot Kurama, his fur now immaculate, whispering something to his open palm, likely talking to Sepa. Opening my connection I try to eavesdrop on the conversation but Sepa immediately rats me out to Kurama who stops talking and turns in our direction with a baleful glare.

Madara gives Kurama a weird look before turning back to me.

"Right where was I, Oh ya, Aburame. We won't be able to ask anyone for advice in a timeframe that will matter."

"You know there might be another you could ask for guidance," Pa states with great reluctance. He pauses to contemplate before replying.

"I'm reluctant to admit this but the Slugs have had more success in guiding newly sentient species into the wider world than us. Perhaps It may not be a bad idea for you to see them if you are truly so worried about your queen's development. Though personally, I think she will be fine under all of your influence."

A strange sensation bleeds into my periphery, causing my eyes to inadvertently track back to Kurama and sending a jolt of concern through my brain.

"KURAMA WHAT THE HELL!" I yell angrily in his direction

 ** _"What?!"_** He replies back while trying to hide the half-eaten piece of orange hair away from my view.

Connecting with Sepa I do a mental check of her condition and nearly facepalm at what I find in her thoughts. She had planned the whole thing since the moment I observed Kurama through our shared enhanced perception. Now that she was absolutely stuffed her thoughts basically boiled down to _-Do with me as you must, for I have already won._

My head slumps onto my open palm as I come to realize just how unprepared I was for this kind of pseudo-parenthood.

XxxxX XxxxX

AN: Didn't get to the length or plot points I wanted to in this chapter so I had to break it into two parts. It will take some time to finnish part 2 and I apologize for the lack of real story advancement, that will show up more in the second part I promise.  
Next chapter: Extended Family part 2


	17. Chapter 17: Extended Family Part 2

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

After the incident with Kurama's hair Sepa became nearly comatose and if it weren't for my own connection telling me she was fine I would have started to worry. Not knowing how long our reprieve from Sepa's exuberance would last we wasted no time getting the information on our destination from the toads and heading toward the land of the slugs.

With Kurama's help, we easily traversed the distance in just over a day and found ourselves at the outermost reaches of Shikkotsu Forest. The trees therein reminded me of my worlds giant redwoods, towering giants whose massive size dwarfed nearly any other living thing on the planet.

Hashirama having been practically drooling at the sight demanded we stop at the base of one of the gargantuan trees so that he could test out his budding senjutsu in combination with mokuton. Seeing no reason to dissuade the excited boy we made a temporary camp while he proceeded to meditate with his back touching the rough bark, a giddy smile plastered on his face all the while.

After waiting half an hour Madara had become impatient and soon thereafter started trying to break Hashirama from his meditation with increasingly elaborate theatrics. Kurama and I watched as the Uchiha child devolved quickly into madness as his attempts continued to fail.

It was more curiosity than anything that stopped Kurama and me from interfering, the play before us passing the time quicker than any idol talk they could have started. Currently, Madara was lighting some sticks on fire and placing them all around Hashirama, going so far as to embed some of them in Hashirama's hair.

He then proceeded to chant prayers to an ambiguously named tree deity in a ridiculous voice, seemingly pleading for either the return of his friend's soul or for the tree to finish what it started and take the body so that he wouldn't have to cremate the remains.

In the middle of the second repetition of chanting a shift occurred on Hashirama's face, gradually turning his face into a scowl. Suddenly his eyes shot open and he stood up quickly, his gaze darting around until they locked in a seemingly random direction.

 **"What did you sense brat?"** Kurama growls out in agitation

Slowly the boy turned back to face us, Idly dislodging the half-burnt twigs from his hair with a look of bewilderment.

"I'm not sure. The root system of these trees are actually interconnected and I wanted to see how far I could perceive through them. Thing is, there's something going on roughly fifty kilometers south of here that is toppling the trees." Hashirama states seriously

"Holy shit, that's actually impressive!" Madara says approvingly while looking at one of the trees whose base was large enough to encompass a medium sized house.

"Some of these trees have likely been alive since the sages era. We have to stop whatever is doing this." Hashirama proclaims in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

 **"Fine, let's see what's going on and save the goddamn trees. Hopefully, the Slug clan are involved and we won't have to go looking for them at least."** Kurama mutters in defeated annoyance

It only takes a few more minutes on Kurama's back before we begin to hear the faint sounds of yelling. Through my swarm, I discover roughly nine gargantuan figures dispersed across a freshly made clearing. Four of the figures were piled haphazardly on top of each other, appearing to be either dead or unconscious.

Their long cylindrical bodies and thick scales made it trivial to identify them as likely being from the snake summon clan. The other figures were a bit harder to identify since the remaining four snakes were wrapped tightly around what appeared to be a giant bipedal slug.

Once Kurama made it into the clearing the yelling became identifiable and caused all of us to hesitate.

"WHY. WON'T. YOU. DIE!" Screams one of the snakes, punctuating each of its words with furious bites to an exposed bit of the slugs neck.

The soft flesh gives way to the venomously dripping fangs but the punctures heal over in short flashes of steam almost as soon as they are produced.

"THE VENOM DOES NOTHING! WHY, WHY ISNT IT WORKING!" Roars another in a hysteric panic.

"DON'T LET UP AND KEEP CONSTRICTING DAMBIT! IT HASN'T TAKEN A BREATH IN FIVE MINUTES. WE CAN STILL WIN THIS!" The largest of the snakes yells, seemingly only half believing in his own words.

The four coiled reptiles strain under a sudden bout of strength from the entrapped slug, the snakes hissing at the sudden increase of pressure put on their constricting bodies.

"I CAN'T HOLD MU-gaw" The last snake begins to say before a rope thin arm escapes the mass of coils and whips around the snake's neck, stopping it mid-sentence.

The captured snake twitches feebly as it tries to draw breath, all the while straining to keep its hold on the slugs upper body. Eventually, the great reptile slackens before giving out a final wheezy breath of unconscious.

With surprising gentleness, the slug carefully unwinds the snake from its body and tosses it on top of the pile of other defeated snakes.

With arms freed two more snakes fall prey to the strangely gentle choke holds, all the while snakes hiss profanities with what little of their breath they had. The final snake having been wrapped near the slugs head uncoiled in a flash of panicked speed, just barely dodging the slugs whip-like arms.

The reptile tried to slither away from the fight entirely but the slug managed to grab its tail just before it could reach the tree line.

Kurama started walking again as the fight seemed to be drawing to a close, his visage scrunching slightly in what appeared to be amused disbelief.

As the slug pulled the snake closer another bout of panic overcame the hapless creature and in its desperation, it gathered a small discordant bundle of natural energy into its body and violently expelled a searing cone of flame from its throat straight into the slugs face at point blank range.

The entire forest might have gone up in flame had Madara not somehow guessed the snakes move. He jumped from Kurama's back, the seals for a jutsu already being weaved before he even hit the ground. On impact the earth heaved under his will.

A veritable avalanche of loamy soil bucked upward and in a space of three seconds solidified into a flawless dome of solid earth around the slug and snake. The dome protected the forest even as the stream of fire continued to erupt from the desperate snake in an unending deluge of liquid fire.

Eventually, the trapped heat seemed to get the better of the titanic reptile, its fire being insulated by the new dome and forcing the reptile to end his technique prematurely lest he kill himself with his own attack. Madara collapsed the dome with shuddering breaths and revealed the two combatants.

The snake's eyes stared in horror at the charred mess that had once been the slugs body. With disturbing speed, the slug began reconstituting itself from the blackened lump of charred meat.

"What the hell are you." The snake gasped breathlessly before it joined its brothers in headlock induced unconsciousness.

The slug looked around in confusion as it noticed our presence. Cautiously the giant slimy biped picked the snake up in a gentle hold and swiveled its eye stalks around the direction toward our group. Its gaze lingered on Kurama for a long moment before it relaxed out of its battle stance and starts to speak.

 **"Oh..um, hi Kurama. It's been a while hasn't it?"** The slug nervously replies in a smooth feminine voice that contrasts oddly with its alien body. All the while attempting to hide the snake behind her back in a way a child might try hiding a stuffed animal.

 **"It's been over five hundred years since last we spoke and you haven't changed at all. Your soft heart nearly caused the forest to be burned down and it would have been your fault for having spared these unworthy beasts."** Kurama replies menacingly while eyeing the pile of snakes.

The slug slumps slightly in dejection before it perks back up and seems about to speak a rebuttal before Hashirama interrupts.

"Hold on, how do you even know her Kurama? I thought you didn't know anyone from the slug clan?"

 **"I still don't brat. The walking slimeball before you is actually my sister. Let me introduce to you the second of the sages 'daughters', Saiken the slug Biju of six tails."** Kurama replies mockingly

 **"I..I don't know if I should be offended or not since that's honestly the nicest thing you've ever said to..."** Saiken replies before trailing off into a horrified silence as Madara jumps onto Kurama's right shoulder with familiar easiness.

The giant slug looked panicked and about ready to tackle Kurama to save the poor suicidal human but she hesitated at her brothers non-reaction. Her eye stalks start darting over Kurama's form in closer detail until she finds myself and Hashirama eyeing her from Kurama's forehead and left shoulder respectively. With a bit of bemusement, I give a casual wave to the slug.

The look of complete incomprehension on her alien visage caused Hashirama to laugh before replying boisterously.

"That reaction! Man Kurama you must really have been an ass-" The boys' sentence is cut short by an errant swat by one of Kurama's tails, sending the boy hurtling into the nearby canopy leaving the sounds of pained cursing and breaking tree branches in his wake.

Saiken gawked in horror at the path of destruction Hashirama's body took before turning angrily toward Kurama.

 **"He! YOU-"**

 **"Stop. He will be fine. The humans I keep are far superior compared to the normal stock you've ever likely encountered and Hashirama is as durable as he is imbecilic. You need not stress your insufferably soft heart over his well being. Now before he manages to find his way back, I'd like to know what you are doing here and what you intend to do with... these."** Kurama grumbles sourly before gesturing toward the pile of snakes.

Saiken looked skeptical of Kurama's claims, eyeing the direction Hashirama had flow before she reluctantly accepts his words at face value.

 **"The clan, uh I mean MY clan have tasked me with capturing and escorting any snakes that decide to pass through our border. I don't know if I'm allowed to give any more information than that. Katsuyu was pretty adamant on keeping the situation on a need to know basis."** Saiken responds with a bit of pride while at the same time beginning to pet the unconscious snake whom she was still holding.

 **"Hmm, I never would have imagined you'd be invited into, let alone join, a large social structure like the summon animal clans. You were always the most antisocial of us, I can't seem to recall a single instance where you willingly interacting with anyone besides one of our siblings in hundreds of years."** Kurama states with indifference

 **"Well, I wasn't exactly given much choice in the end. Apparently, you and shukaku have been...influencing the human communities enough that they are now actively seeking us out. When I was passing through rain country a while back, these large groups of humans suddenly showed up asking for my help. They were so happy to have found me and they wouldn't stop talking about how you and Shukaku changed up things,"** Saiken says with a wistful tone before pausing a moment to glance at the humans present, eyeing us thoughtfully.

 **"Initially I was willing to help them out but then more and more groups kept showing up. Eventually, a fight broke out between them and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stand being the cause of all that trouble so I ran away up. In the beginning, I had hoped Chōmei would let me hide out at her place but she got really angry when the humans tracked me to the area near her hideaway. The humans were acting oddly too I guess because Chomei got really upset with whatever they were doing to her lake. I didn't want to bug her any more than I already had, so I decided to leave there as well after apologizing. I guess word spread from there about me being harassed because the clan decided to intervene pretty quickly thereafter. One thing led to another and I had to agree to join if I wanted to hide out up here with them. It's honestly been nice, I don't cause anyone trouble...well that is until the clan figured out that I was immune to pretty much everything. Now they've had me guarding our border toward snake clan territory ever since. I'm still getting used to it but I can't say I'm too unhappy with the situation. At least now the clan doesn't have to outright kill when they are invaded like this. Though a lot of this could have been avoided if you or Shukaku had just warned the rest of us about your interference with human society."** Saiken replied with accusation lingering on her words.

 **"Well, it's not like I planned any of this. If it weren't for this lot of human-shaped parasites I wouldn't have had to intervene in their ridiculous, self-destructive social structure."** Kurama dismisses while gesturing toward myself and Madara.

"Oh like you had so many better things to be doing. I'm sure all this pales in comparison to just, oh I don't know, sleeping in a cave on top of some random mountain for decades on end." Madara states in a mocking deadpan

Ignoring Madaras interruption Kurama continues on as if he hadn't spoken.

 **"I don't see how is my responsibility to hunt the lot of you down just to inform you of something so minor. I am here now and if it means speeding up this trip I will assist you and your new clan with these vermin. Speaking of which, wouldn't it be easier to just kill the lot of them? They can't be easy to contain longterm and they are well known for their skill in deception and stealth. And YES I know you lot are awake over there! If you attempt to leave the clearing I will hunt you down and devour you alive, regardless of what Saiken may want."** Kurama says with a predatory glint in his eyes.

The apparently conscious pile of snakes collectively flinch at the loud exclamation and slowly proceed to untangle themselves, giving off weak hisses of pain and discomfort all the while.

Their mannerisms had shifted to submissive obedience, heads bowed and eyes averted from the dominating presences before them.

Immediately after Kurama's words, the relatively small figure of Hashirama bounces back into the clearing, landing squarely on top of one of the gargantuan snakes. He sported a relaxed air about him again and was smiling like he was surrounded by friends instead of giant reptilian predators.

"Don't worry too much guys, he threatens to eat me all the time but he never actually goes through with it." Hashirama proclaims before sitting down and patting the snake consolingly.

The snake visibly restrained itself from snapping at the impetuous human, taking the consoling pats with poor grace, sinking its head slowly toward the ground in ever increasing bouts of shame and humiliation.

 **"The only reason I haven't gone through with that threat is that I fear what you'd do to my stomach. Just looking at you makes me want to vomit and I don't see why I'd subject myself to such an unpleasant experience."** Kurama retorts back with a growl

"We are getting a bit off topic here and since Kurama has apparently declined to introduce any of us properly let me be the first to say that it's nice to meet you Saiken. My name is Madara Uchiha, on top of Kurama's head is Skitter Sensei and the one traumatizing that snake over there is Hashirama Senju. We've come to gain the advice of the slug clan in a matter involving a potential new sage animal species, your help would be greatly appreciated and if need be we would be glad to help escort these prisoners to wherever they are going to be contained." Madara interjects in an exasperated yet pleasantly formal voice

"It's a pleasure to meet another of Kurama's siblings. I've learned a few things about the summon clans from the toads and I have to ask. How did you even go about joining the slug clan? Isn't there a contract scroll that requires signing in blood or something, how would that even work for a bijju?" I ask curiously

 **"Well, new members of the clan don't normally have to sign the summoning scroll. Instead, there is a ritual that is performed to initiate a new members from within the family. Typically only after they have proven themselves or have reached maturity. If every summon animal had to actually sign their own scroll then the signature list would go on for miles. I haven't learned much more on the specifics but I would also like to note that I can actually bleed. Though with the way my chakra interacts with the environment it tends to evaporate fairly quickly. Anyway, we can talk about all that when we go see Katsuyu, she will be close to the place we are taking our new friends anyway."** Saiken says while stroking the snake she was still carrying.

The poor creature looked only halfway conscious at this point, each stoke shifting its head slightly side to side. It was honestly a bit hard to tell if the snake was uncomfortable, its gaze simply stared outward and only the slow movement of its lidless eyes indicated any wakefulness on its part.

Soon we found ourselves gathering our new prisoners into a group and walking them through the forest. Kurama was at the back watching for any escape attempts while Saiken guided the group ever deeper into the thickest parts of the forest. None of the snakes gave a single word of protest, simply choosing to obey the two beasts of power rather than risk their wrath. The only exception being one particular snake who still had Hashirama sitting on top of its head, the boy had begun chatting away at the snake in some vain attempt to befriend the animal.

Eventually, the space between trees became smaller, causing the forest to feel more like a thick jungle and subsequently causing the group to become more cautious as more and more forest life. Our small trek ended when we arrived at the lip of a gargantuan hole in the ground, its appearance having been masked until reaching the very edge of its cavernous depths. The area down below us was a beautiful lush green with the only exception being a large cave tunnel to one side of the pit near the bottom. Covering all sides of the pit was some kind of clear coating that resembled glass, giving a smooth finish to the otherwise natural beautiful of the scenery.

 **"Give me a moment and we can start getting everyone down."** Saiken quickly says to the group before hopping fearlessly into the hole that had to be at least 300 feet deep.

The depth was great enough that Saiken had a few seconds of freefall before she landed with a mighty thump of force that reverberated through the ground like a miniature earthquake. Once she collects herself Saiken goes on to create some kind of large balloon at the bottom. The object looked something akin to a giant cloudy soup bubble from up here and when it was complete Saiken began making gestures to indicate us following her. The snakes were leaning slightly over the ledge to get a look at what was going on while this all happened and as soon as Saiken gave her gestures Kurama proceeded to use his tails to shove the unsuspecting group screeching over the edge.

Before the group could even reach the ground Kurama jumped in after them causing me to desperately grab onto his fur in an attempt to steady myself as the gut-churning feeling of freefall assaulted me. Upon hitting the bubble our momentum dropped as the chakra construct flexed with our impacts, each landing causing a ripple to flow over the bubbles surface before dissipating.

 **"What is wrong with that brat? He must do this just to piss me off."** Kurama growls while looking upward.

Following his gaze, I find that Hashirama had fashioned scaled wooden draconian wings around the midsection of the snake he had been riding on. The snake hyperventilated as it drifted down from the midpoint of the holes height, all the while its head whipping around to stare fixedly at the wings supporting its massive body and the tiny human who had created such majesty in mere seconds.

"Kurama you ass! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I was NOT ready for that!" Hashirama yells with a voice that cracked once in childish anger.

Stepping off the bubble Kurama idly raised one of his hands to flip off the boy before proceeding toward the cave entrance that Saiken was waiting by. Upon Hashirama's landing, the snake clans eyes linger upon their traumatized brother before reluctantly turning away and following into the cave entrance.

A strange sensation tinged through the background of my thoughts as we entered the cave system and I found myself instinctively opening my swarm sense. A cascade of light blinds my mind's eye as my power extends from me, even as my reach extends to its limits there seemed to be unending hoards of insects extending for miles somehow thriving within the deepest part of the cavern. Concentrating I find that the majority of the insect inhabitants are thriving on top of the ceiling of the cavern seemingly living off of warm air from some sort of water source below them along with a strange substance that was being provided to them by…

"There are slugs on the ceilings of the area we are heading toward, I think there is also some kind of underground lake but I can't make heads or tales of this place. Most of the insects down here seem to be partially sedentary." I idly comment to Kurama as I continue to scan what lies ahead of us.

Having overheard my comment Saiken comments happily to my observation.

 **"Oh, you're a sensor? Wow, Kurama your humans really are interesting,"** She responds with a backward glance toward the back of the group where Hashirama and a dazed snake trailed behind.

 **"This is one of the slug clans secret reservations for dangerous or endangered species. It's actually really beautiful once we get out of this tunnel and into the main reservoir area. You all will love it, just wait and see!"** Saiken enthused before she picked up her pace

The tunnel soon opened into the main chamber and its size and grandeur left even Kurama temporarily speechless. The ceiling towered hundreds of feet above us in a grand curving dome that stretched for miles into the distance. Coating the entirety of the surface were the insects I sensed, and they turned out to be giant foot long glow worms, so massive and bright that they illuminated the water and ground beneath them. In front of us lay a lake of immense proportions, on either side of which lay long shores of black and grey rock and sand. On the walls of the cave, hundreds of holes were showcased and provided birds of various species a nesting spot.

As Saiken led our slack-jawed group to the waterfront a ripple grew from the depths of the lake and soon a large white and blue slug emerged from the shadowy depths.

 **"Welcome back Saiken, I see that your patrol went better than last time, I knew sending you out was a good idea. You've done very well. Now would you mind introducing them to me, dear?"** The giant slug asked kindly.

 **"Yes, mam! Everyone this is lady Katsuyu the founder and leader of the third great sage animal clan. Lady Katsuyu may I present my brother Kurama and his compatriots Madara, Skitter, and Hashirama. The rest are of the Snake clan and have submitted to me through the right of combat like you told me to do."** Saiken pronounced in a rehearsed manner

 **"It is my honor to welcome you to The Reserve. I will need to ask the snake clan present to please refrain from eating the other denizens until you can be instructed on which species here are non-sapient. This is the first time we have had snake clan guests in well over three centuries and it would not do to have one of you become sick or die from eating someone poisonous. Feel free to acclimate to the surroundings and do not be shy in asking around for guidance or help. I have many of my clan feeding the glowworms right now so all you'll have to do is look up for assistance. For the time being though I would like to talk privately with my adopted daughter and her new friends."** Katsuyu intones in a smooth but authoritative cadence.

Looking at one another the snake clansmen seem to hold a silent conversation before one of their number answers hesitantly to the matriarch.

"T-that would be acceptable great honored elder, there are matters involving our reasons for crossing into slug territory that we wish to discuss with you at your earliest convenience." The snake hesitantly replies before the group departs toward a rocky outcropping near the shoreline.

The snake with Hashirama hesitantly turns towards his clansmen while looking up at his passenger as if asking for permission. With a graceless flip of one hand, Hashirama indicates to his scaly steed his acceptance.  
"Hey, guys I'm going to watch over these guys just in case they try anything fishy. Come get me later okay!" Hashirama says to us before he is reluctantly whisked away in the direction of the other snakes.

Madara seemed about ready to condemn Hashirama for his lack of self-preservation but one look at the traumatized snake he was riding upon made Madara reconsider who needed saving in that scenario.

 **"Now then, there must be something serious going on if you've come all this way. Tell me, why have you sought out the aid of the slug clan?"**

AN: ...I can explain. You see ive got a new job and about 3000% less free time on my hands. I dont want to quit on any of my stories but it will take a long time to finish them...years infact at my current pace but I digress. Anyway thought Id throw this chapter out there eventhough its about half as long as I wanted to make it. Feel free to throw those elusive grammer mistakes in my face (I deserve it after taking so long to update anyway)


	18. Chapter 18: Growing Up

Biology is the most powerful technology ever created. DNA is software, protein are hardware, cells are factories. -Arvind Gupta

 **"Interesting, and you say Sepa has not been responsive since then?" Katsuyu asks**

"Yes, as far as we can tell Sepa is still healthy, but ever since she ate one of Kurama's hairs she's been almost comatose," I say after explaining the situation.

 **"I have a few theories but given that your companion is lodged within your arm I will have to perform a rather invasive technique to confirm this either way."**

With a reassuring nod of agreement from Kurama, I agreed to follow our hosts' instruction. Katsuyu inhales deeply for a moment, seeming to collect herself before a pseudopod of flesh reaches out to me, stopping only a few feet away.

 **"Place your arm here and we can begin. Be warned though, this may not be a very pleasant procedure to observe. If you are squeamish look away."** Katsuyu says to us.

With increased interest, Madara walks a bit closer to get a better view of the procedure while Kurama tilts his head slightly to one side in interest.

Upon touching the damp surface of Katsuyu's skin a spike of chakra shocks through my nerves. My body becomes rigid and numb simultaneously but no discomfort or panic was present in my mind. I watch the slugs flesh engulf my arm in its liquidy embrace, sinking into every nook and ghosting through every nerve like water sinking into a pile of dry sand.

Slowly the color of Katsuyu's outer skin begins to transform, becoming lighter and more opaque until eventually, it looks as if it were made of water. Inside the pseudopod of transparent slug flesh my arm floated nervelessly, all the holes Sepa had bored into it clearly visible against my pale complexion and the internal reflections of the transparent substance. Another spike of chakra infiltrates my arm and it too begins losing its color, layer by layer the flesh and bone of my arm starts transforming into the same shade of transparent ooze as Katsuyus flesh and within the mess of half-transparent bones and ligaments I spied the curled up form of Sepa sleeping peacefully and undisturbed within.

Through some effort of the slug clans matriarch, Sepa phased straight out of my jellified appendage and soon thereafter color began returning to the skin of my arm. With some surprise I noticed that the holes Sepa had bored into my arm were now closing up as well, leaving my arm smooth and blemishless.

My arm was released while Katsuyu began to hum in consideration as she continued to observe Sepa from within her transparent pseudopod of flesh.

"Ah I see, that's actually a rather clever way of handling something like that I suppose," Madara mutters to himself speculatively.

Seeing my questioning look he starts to explain.

"Of all the disciplines tied to the use of chakra, medical ninjutsu is notorious for being the most difficult to master and utilize safely besides senjutsu of course. It's the reason why so few ninjas ever truly learn to heal properly. It's too costly in terms of time to learn and tends to lead to chakra poisoning or other harmful symptoms when used by an inexperienced practitioner.  
However, as a rule, it's generally believed to be easier when applied to heal oneself and thus some people like the Senju still end up utilizing self-directed medical jutsu pretty often. What I found interesting about Katsuyas procedure is that she forced your arm to act as if it were part of her body. She can make a diagnosis on anything she wants by pseudo-absorbing it into her body and working from there. Basically, her healing is cheating one of medical jutsus' biggest flaws by healing or modifying what is considered a portion of herself." Madara explains while we both watch the giant slug examine what was wrong with Sepa.

 **"Speaking of self-modification"** Katsuyu starts with patient tolerance.

 **"This little one seems to be in the process of a kind of metamorphosis. She managed to pause the process somehow though. I don't know how she consciously controlled the act but her body will be facing some major changes in the coming weeks. Still, this induced hibernation is odd, It's almost as if something forced this to occur deliberately to prevent harm to you Skitter. My best guess is that Sepa was instinctively trying to avoid damaging your arm. Now that she is free from your arm the process can continue unhindered."**

Moving the pseudopod with deliberate care Katsuyu places the still sleeping Sepa onto my hand, her small curled form resembling a small black golf ball more than anything. Showcasing just how much larger she had become. Honestly, it was surprising that a lump hadn't been visible on my skin.

I open my connection to Sepa cautiously while also curling my hand around Sepas form. All I could feel from her were the same sleepy incoherence of her unconsciousness.

 **"She is in the process of metabolizing a large mass of chakra. Her body has started converting that energy into biomass and I'm sure you realize that this would have been bad if she was still stuck within your arm while she grew. Obligate chakravores are a rather interesting species in terms of their metabolism thankfully. It's a rather inefficient process all things considered but still quite wonderful to observe first hand. They typically will not grow to large sizes because of the inherent limitations of converting raw chakra into complex biological substances. She is going to need an extraordinary dense chakra diet to keep healthy during her pupation I think."** Katsuyu finishes contemplatively while glancing toward Kurama

 **"She looks fine to me and I do not care if she needs more chakra, I have more of that than you can possibly fathom. Even compared to Saiken or my other siblings I have always carried the largest fraction of our combined chakra. Her appetite does not concern me if that is what you are worried about here."** Kurama relies uncaringly

 **"Be that as it may her body is using a lot of energy just converting your chakra into biomass. It's even more inefficient because of how densely packed your chakra is compared to her other sources of sustenance. Unraveling and containing it all is stressing her body. She is already working doubly hard trying to keep some form of senjutsu contained within Skitter here and all of this together will not be good during this stage of her life. Once she actually begins to pupate, any kind of stress can have devastating long term complications on her health and not even I can fix those kinds of problems."**

"What can we do about this then? Will separating myself from her while she undergoes this metamorphosis help? Do we need to find a better source of food for her?" I ask

 **"I actually wouldn't recommend separation. Her biology is already adapted to your presence and removing that stimulus in this phase is something I'd rather not chance in case complications arise. However, I would try to find a more suitable food source as quickly as possible. The more time she has to really process chakra during the pupation phase the better. Though I'm not sure where you'd find a suitably dense chakra source that would be more digestible for her."**

 **"I um, might have an idea about that actually,"** Saiken responds for the first time since she introduced Katsuyu to us.

 **"Wouldn't Chōmei's chakra be fairly compatible relatively speaking? She even went through that cocoon phase thing we were younger. Plus I still feel really bad about leading those humans to her secret hideaway. Maybe you could help her out with the humans and she could help you out with the chakra problem?"** Saiken responds while pushing here fingers together in front of her nervously.

"I'm willing to try at the very least. Kurama, Madara do you see any better alternatives or reasons why we shouldn't just go ahead with this." I ask while gently rolling Sepas curled up form in my palm. Faint giggling emanates from the half-conscious kikaichu and a small smile breaks through my worry.

 **"Why not, we have already gone this far out of our way as it is. Chōmei was one of the more tolerant among us. She never did bother much with humans though."**

"Right. I do think you and Skitter should head out to visit Chōmei but Hashirama and I really do need to be getting back to the village. We've been gone for too long as it is and our families and comrades need us. If you two are going to be gone for an extended amount of time this is doubly important. We should stay the night here to recoup and resupply and then head out our separate ways come morning. That is if it is alright with you lady Katsuyu." Madara finishes in his serious formal cadence.

 **"I insist actually. It's not every day that we get such interesting guests. We have plenty of room and traveling supplies will be of no issue. Sakien if you would please act as their chaperone, I have clan business to attend to elsewhere. It's been a pleasure meeting all of you and I wish you luck in your journeys."** Katsuyu intones with sincerity

"It's settled then, let's go get Hashirama and tell him the plan."

Looking off toward the far shoreline the snake clansman are gathered together on the sandy beach as Hashirama and his new friend/victim were performing an extreme form of fishing for them. The snake Hashirama had been riding on earlier was being suspended over the water, mostly limp and motionless it was curled around some kind of wooden trebuchet. Only the very tip of the snakes tail moved above the water in a languid wave and for a short while we all gazed at the crazy Senju boy and his antics.

A ripple from the surface of the water echoes out from the depths of the underground lake and to our shock, we watch a massive gold and white speckled cod latching onto the giant snakes tail with evident animalistic hunger. With a quick movement from Hashirama the trebuchet flung its pivoting arm backward.

The snake having been mostly wrapped around the device held fast as the cod arced into the air and eventually lost its grip upon the slippery scaled tail. The parabolic arc sent the cod straight into the gathered snakes and they descended upon it like a pack of hungry Hyenas.

The snake on the trebuchet seemed to talk to Hashirama a moment before the boy nodded, a huge smile lighting up the humans' face as the giant device moved back into place for the next round. The gathered snakes on the shoreline soon finished up their meal, leaving no traces whatsoever of the cods' existence. The nest of snakes resembled more a pack of eager puppies waiting for treats rather than the cold calculating reptiles they had portrayed themselves to be earlier that day.

"You know the scary part is just how quickly he got a pack of murderous giant snakes to almost literally be eating out of the palm of his hand." Madara acknowledges with humor

A shadow in the water heralds another fish's approach but this time the cod was so massive that it nearly swallowed the snake whole along with the trebuchet arm. In a panic, Hashirama quickly forced wooden beams into the cod's mouth to try and pry its jaws open but this caused the device to tip over. The whole trebuchet system fell sideways into the shallows of the lake causing both Hashirama and the snake to fall directly into the cods waiting mouth. In a flurry of motion, we ran toward the shore, but within seconds the commotion in the water was already over. The half-submerged cod stopped its thrashing in the shallows and lay still. Kurama dragged the gargantuan fish onto land while the rest of us watched with a bit of concern.

With a clawed hand, Kurama Gutted the fish quickly and precisely, spilled the stomach contents onto the shore leaving behind a rattled and dazed-looking snake. The snakes' skin oozed a purple mist and had apparently been the downfall of the voracious cod. Sifting through the nasty bits remains and not finding what he was looking for Kurama speaks out to the snake in earnest seriousness.

 **"Where is Hashirama?"**

Shaking itself to clear away its dazed state the snake contorts itself oddly before heaving up a slime coated Hashirama. The boy without missing a beat jumps to his feet with his arms above his head and shouts loudly.

"That was awesome! We totally had him, and just look at the size of this thing!" Hashirama gesticulates wildly slinging globs of snake saliva every which way as he points and laughs maniacally without a care in the world.

 **"...Kurama I think your human is broken."**

 **"Yes, Saiken. I know."**

XxxxX XxxxX

After a day of rest and a quick resupply, our group headed back to the surface and split into two traveling parties. Kurama and I would be heading north while the boys would be heading back south toward the center of fire country.

Hashirama had taken his new friend with him with permission from Katsuyu. The snake clan member was somewhat wary of being bossed around by the tiny human but to be fair the guy didn't have any better options to choose from. We accepted the situation easily enough since the two boys were legitimate juggernauts of their own nowadays.

They didn't really need anyone to defend themselves and Kurama had even admitted that the two boys together could probably face him on even terms if they leveraged their newest abilities correctly. The boys were nascent senjutsu users on top of wielding incredibly powerful bloodline abilities and they had a decently powerful animal summon with them. There wasn't much out there that could trouble them enough to cause us to worry about their safety anymore.

So now Kurama, Sepa and I found ourselves making a good pace toward the area Saikan indicated was Chōmei's hideaway. The area was apparently a well-hidden lake formed on top of an old volcanic caldera. The trip would take less than a day at Kurama's prodigious speed even so a lot of the time was spent making idol conversation.

"Why is it that you seem oddly reluctant to go visit your siblings? I mean it's one thing to not stay in communication with them but they don't seem all that bad." I ask idly while checking on Sepas sleeping form in her newly made silk traveling pouch.

 **"It's not complicated."** Kurama begins with an annoyed sigh.

 **"This isn't the first time I've inadvertently caused humanity to turn their eyes in the bijuus direction. My siblings were never pleased with my attitude and actions back then. Additionally, I find myself reluctant to bring you or Sepa anywhere near one of my siblings. If they decide to have a…'disagreement' with me over my most recent disruption of the human world, well I'm not sure how much of the countryside would be left."**

"I presume that isn't the case though with Chōmei since you are bringing us straight to her?"

 **"Obviously. In Chōmei's specific case the aftermath of my decisions rarely affected her. Mostly due to her ability to fly and her proclivity to locate hideaways that were difficult to find. She wasn't ever as pissed at me as some of the others were, but even beyond all of that she was always the most cheerful and carefree of us."**

Waking up somewhat from our conversing Sepa complains to me with pitiably squeaky groans.

"TIRED. Wanna go home" she whines

"You're fine, just a little bit longer okay," I say reassuringly while sticking my hand into her pouch to caress her curled up form comfortingly.

A sudden pinch has me retracting my hand quickly and I take a look at my punctured wrist.  
The little munchkin had bitten my hand, probably in an attempt to burrow back in but she was too tired to remember to numb the area first thankfully.

"NOoooo" Sepa whined sleepily at her failed attempt

"That's not gonna happen Sepa, you are going to be too big for that," I say seriously

"Nooooo" Was Sepas only reply before tossing and turning some and falling right back to sleep.

"I hope we can get her to ignore these instincts of hers. That could really cause some problems if she gets as big as Katsuyu thinks she will get." I say worriedly

 **"Hopefully when she reaches maturity some of those instincts will dull. Worse case she will have to live with me I suppose."** Kurama responds unconcernedly

I acknowledge the assurance and gaze out at the approaching mountain and subsequent canopy of trees marking the outer edges of the Chōmei's 'secret' hideaway.

With little effort, Kurama scales the side of the mountain and pushes past the densely packed trees until eventually, a large open area appears before us. At its center rested a tree so gargantuan that its canopy nearly covered the entirety of the Calderas top. In one of the branches of said tree, a cleared out area marked the likely living space of Chōmei based just on the sheer size of the cleared out area.

On the shoreline of the lake, newly built log huts popped out of the greenery in all directions. The arrangement of the huts seemed to mark the beginnings of a burgeoning human settlement.

As we made our way closer to the area a panic grew as people noticed our approach. Soon thereafter some kind of alarm bell was activated producing a low gonging sound that carried through the entire area.

Without delay, a massive figure burst forth from the lake in a rainbow mist of water. Within the outburst of water emerged Chōmei's menacing visage. Scaled Plating that was reminiscent of knights armor shone like polished black metal and the six scythe-like arms moved with quick precision to clear the mist in front of the orange glowing visored eyes within.

In complete opposition to the frightening appearance, a cheerful feminine voice broke through the panicked atmosphere.

 **"KURAMA!"** shouted the giant beetle happily before rocketing toward our direction at a ridiculous velocity. It looked like the bug bijuu was going for a tackling hug which would have been bad considering that it would likely crush the two unseen mites on top of Kurama's head. Kurama braced himself to blunt the impact on us but it would not be enough.

Just as impact seemed inevitable the beetle jerked to a stop midair and froze, somehow still managing to float with no apparent movement.

Relaxing from his ready stance Kurama picked up the equally motionless Skitter from his forehead only to see exactly what he feared might happen in this situation. Skitters' eyes were once again windows into a starfield and they were brighter than ever before. 

XxxxX XxxxX

(With Hashirama & Madara)

"NO, you are not keeping him! What will your clan think and where the hell are you even going to get enough food to feed him! You have to think about the consequences before doing things like this!" Madara shouts up to his friend from the ground

"I did think this through. Look I even got permission from Katsuyu so there is no problem. My Clan will be fine with this because they won't have to see him often enough to care. He will live in the forest of death and everything will be fine." Hashirama waves off Madaras protests as the three made their way back to the village.

"Well, what does your friend here think about this whole deal huh. Did you even ask him what he thinks about the situation?"

"Well, it totally has to beat being a slug clans captive. From what I overheard from the other snakes I'm pretty sure the higher-ups in their clan will kill any of them if they tried to come back. Especially after word gets out about how utterly they failed. Besides me and my friend here have bonded. **Isn't that right noodles**!" Hashirama proclaims with an enthusiastic pat to the snakes head which he rode upon.

 **"My name is EBONY you psychotic termite."** The snake grumbles under its breath halfheartedly

"Yes but that name sounds too much like a girl name. Besides we have to pick a nickname that will make people less afraid of you. I mean think about it, no one in the village is going to be afraid of the great and powerful _noodles."_

The conversation escalated from there, the snake claiming that he would be feared one day even if that cursed nickname stuck.

As the bickering between the three grew ever louder an undetected figure made of living darkness moves into the shadow of one unsuspecting Madara Uchiha causing said boy to lock up and fall behind his friend. Perceptions and visions of the future twisted madly in the boys' mind in a roiling tempest of shock and awe.

The first step towards freeing his goddess was before him. He needed the eyes of samsara and the recipe ingredients were right in front of him.

He knew what had to be done, even if he would never forgive himself. The revelations that his shadow had gifted him were terrifying and there was only one way forward once everything was said and done.

XxxxX

Hashirama Senju's body was found and brought back to the village by a patrol party on the back of charred serpents corpse.

XxxxX

Tobirama and Izuna looked upon the corpse brought to them by their elders and then at each other.

"You can't be serious about this Tobi. If that technique is even possible then think about the ramifications. The Uzumaki seal work is only theoretical! We have no idea what will actually happen if we attempt this." Izuna remarks with evident trepidation

"What would you be saying had the body been Madaras," Tobirama asks without a hint of doubt

"... I'll go get Mito, she has better seal craftsmanship than either of us and I'd rather not have a zombie apocalypse should we do this wrong."


	19. Chapter 19: Black Zetsu & Madara

**"What Lies Behind Us And What Lies Before Us Are Tiny Matters Compared To What Lies Within Us." –Ralph Waldo Emerson**

(Zetsu)

The wire-thin strands that pathed to the future were being cut away one by one. The handful of futures where mother was released now showed only a desolate world, utterly devoid of life or chakra waiting for her. Mother had sacrificed everything to give the world a chance at a future away from the machinations of her clan and he'd be damned if he let such a fate befall his mothers world especially after all mother did to prevent such a future in the first place.

Her two sons had not even bothered to ask why their mother did what she did. They simply observed her preparing her gruesome army from the human populace so that they could be leveled against her clan. They labeled her a monster but they never asked why she had done what was necessary. Even if mother had irrevocably gone mad there was still no reason to go about things the way the brothers had. Once the Shinju was extracted and fragmented what harm could mother have done to them then?

Zetsu gazed longingly at the bright object in the sky that represented his mother's prison. The last remaining piece of the Shinju's roots had been taken into himself for safekeeping and with it, he could sense the other greater fragments that roamed the world. Through the shinju fragment also came the visions of possible futures. He knew that any possibility of bringing mother back in her full glory was impossible now, the largest fragment of the shinju was irrecoverable due to the abominations fixation and proximity to it. There simply was no time left to plan or act, the best he could manage was a last-ditch final stand against the coming of the abomination. The only window of opportunity for salvation was at this one moment in time where the reincarnates were separated from the abomination and the corrupted fox fragment.

Hope was not yet lost though, through his visions a path to salvation still shone like a dying star in the blackness. A keyhole window of opportunity presented by fate that would ensure mother's freedom and the reconciliation she deserved. All Zetsu had to do was reach out to Indra's reincarnation, show him _the truth_ and everything else would fall into place.

(Madara POV)

I didn't sense the intruder until it was too late. Whatever it was was inside my mind before I could so much as blink, locking my body down from the inside out. I tried preparing a senjutsu based internal attack but was stopped cold as the intruder bore his soul down on me like a cascading waterfall into dry earth. The influx was disturbingly reminiscent of the times I practiced ninshu with Kurama. Whatever this creature was it was ancient and it was desperate to get its message across.

 _"The world hangs on by a single thread Madara Uchiha. You are the only viable key that can unlock mothers prison. She will not be enough though to face the abomination, there is much to do before we can face it. I will show you all that I can."_

Visions as vivid as the noonday sun tore their way into my mind's eye.  
 _Taylor and her passenger breaking dimensional barriers, feeding endlessly and unstoppably on the world's chakra in a horror show beyond my wildest imagination._

 _"There is still a way to avoid this. We have little time but there is still a chance. A chance that hinges on mothers return and your cooperation."_

The steps required for freeing his goddess was set before my eyes. The first step needed were the eyes of samsara...and the recipe ingredients were right in front of me.

I knew then what had to be done, even if I would never forgive myself. Even if I had to find a way to undo death itself I'd come back for him. The revelations that my new shadow had gifted me were as terrifying as they were horrific but there was only one way forward once everything was said and done.

"Hey, Madara is something wrong?" Hashirama called out from on top of his new scaled companion.

Without saying a word I held out a fist in an all too familiar gesture. A clear signal that something important needed to be shared between the two of  
us via ninshu.

The snake summons' attention drifted, it already knew that trying to understand the humans was impossible and disregarded the boy's strange antics in favor of scanning the surroundings for threats. Without hesitation, Hashirama jumped down and met my outstretched fist with one of his own in a silent fistbump.

Everything that was shown to me was passed onto Hashirama and soon thereafter we retracted our fists. Slowly A mutual understanding of what needed to be done passed by as Hashirama's ever-present smile dyed into a nervous almost-frown.

"Ya know, I always knew you were going to be the death of me," Hashirama says attempting to break the new dower mood.

"That's not funny, do you even realize how big this is," Madara snaps with tears threading to break free from his control

"Sorry sorry. This is bigger than either of us, I'm just...scared of what has to happen next. Look Madara whatever happens next I forgive you. I want you to promise me that you won't become all emo like half of your clan seems to be. You better save the world with a dam smile on your face bastard or else i'm going to haunt your ass!" Hashirama says with returning determination.

Without saying another word I activate my Sharingan, watching as the image of my best friend's reassuring smile etches itself forever into my mind.

With great reluctance, I place my right hand on Hashirama's forehead, Zetsu performing his operation of extracting DNA and chakra. A moment without warning or pause I channel a lethal bolt of lightning chakra straight into Hashirama's nervous system. The kill was instant and left behind a smoking corpse that fell through the air in slow motion like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Tears of blood dripped down my cheeks as the grief of my gruesome act really struck home and as expected the Mangekyou began to awake. The blood vessels in my eyes shattering and rearranging even as Zetsu began to incorporate my friend's chakra into my body. The blur of the blood in my eyes and the sight of my friend's corpse distracted me enough that I didn't notice when a giant scaly appendage seized hold of me.

I had foolishly forgotten about the giant snake summon that had just witnessed me murdering my best friend with no real warning in front of him.

"Why?! Was he not your ally?! Was he not your friend!" The snake hissed furiously while taking Hashirama's corpse and scooping it back on the crest of its head.

The snake had bound him in constricting coils and if it were not for Zetsu reinforcing my body I would have already been pulped. The snakes gaze was turned away from my eyes, somehow instinctively knowing to avoid them.

Unable to breath, perform genjutsu or perform hand signs I had no way of breaking free. I knew instinctively that the mangekyo was activate still and I knew from family legend what I should be able to do with these new eyes. Even still I was reluctant, this creature was one of Hashirama's friends, if we'd just explained things out loud- No there wasn't time for that and there wasn't time to hesitate now either.

 ** _AMATERASU!_**

Within seconds the snake was writhing under the black flames, the coils restraining me forgotten in its panicked attempt to rid itself of the impossibly hot fire. By the time I regained enough control to extinguish the flames it was far too late. In a matter of seconds the flames had already killed the helpless animal. Yet even in its last dying moments it still managed to keep Hashirama's corpse from falling from its crest and somehow impossibly it managed to prevent the flames from reaching his friends dead body.

"I-I didn't mean to- I didn't want- Goddammit!" I cursed to myself in rage and self directed frustration.

 _"Stop, grieving for what has already passed will achieve nothing. Time is ever dwindling, we need to go before it is too late,"_ Zetsu demanded coldly in the back of my mind.

Already I can feel the ancient entity working on melding Hashirama's essence into my newly evolved eyes. I knew that It wouldn't be long before they would change once again into something far more powerful. Once the the rinnegan was awakened I would have to be ready for the next step of the plan.  
I would need to find the Gedō Mazō and with the help of some distant relatives I would hopefully resurrect the rabbit goddess from the husk of the shinju she was sealed within.

There was only one question that needed to be answered first.

"How the hell am I supposed to get us onto the fucking moon?!"

 _(AN: Sorry for the wait again, Ill be honest that I was just caught up in reading other peoples work for the most part...well that and playing boarderlands 3. If you guys haven't yet check out 'of harrowed hearts' on archive of our own & 'A Cape in Konoha' here on spacebattles id highly recommend them. I'm really glad that other people are writing the crossover __of these two worlds_ _because if my story turns out shitty at least someone is doing it right! Also feel free to comment, im doing this for fun and all the comments that come in just bring in more motivation on my part to crank this story out.)_


	20. Chapter 20: Apologia

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

...shirama

Hashirama!

*Smack*

"Gah" Hashirama gasps at the sudden spike of pain

Disorientation fills Hashirama's senses as a blank grey ceiling blurrily comes into focus. His sense of his chakra denied completely by something. He finds that his limbs and forehead are strapped to some kind of metal table and nothing seems to be making much sense.

"He is awake, I think that last attempt did it. Looks like we do need a sacrifice to pierce the dimensional boundary into the pure world." A familiar voice concluded

"Well, I'm glad that my little brother's eye didn't go to waste. You still owe me for this Tobi and are you even sure it's him and not a random soul we pulled through?" A different voice replies condescendingly

"I'm ninety percent certain but I suppose there is only one way to find out." the first voice replies

Two familiar figures enter into Hashirama's view and sudden recognition breaks through some of the fog of his mind. One was the white-haired and red-eyed visage of his younger brother Tobirama and the other was Madara's brother Izuna who was for some reason sporting some kind of jutsu shiki script over most of his face centering around his left eye. For some reason, the eye was cloudy almost like it had been blinded or damaged severely by something.

"Tobi, Izuna what's going on?" Hashirama queried sluggishly to the two figures hovering over his restrained body.

"He seems pretty coherent, the eyes are weird though, what do you think caused that?" Izuna states curiously while giving Hashiramas arms and face a few pokes with something that looked like a giant serrated scalpel.

Oddly enough there wasn't any pain where the blade met skin, just a strange discomfort.

"Its partially the seal works fault I think, the sclera connecting the eye analogs must be getting a bit of feedback. It's not optimal but there isn't much I can do about it at this point." Another familiar voice echoes from a corner of the room outside Hashirama's restrained view.

"Mito is that you? What's going on? Where am I?" Hashirama croaked

"I think it's safe to move on to restraint level 4, all the tests show that it's really him. Everything seems stable so there shouldn't be any danger but let's keep the chakra seal on for now just in case." Tobirama says to the room before releasing the restraints on Hashirama's body.

Sitting up Hashirama groggily takes in his surroundings, taking note of the strange instruments adorning the room and what seemed to be miles of seal work crisscrossing the walls. The floors seals were a bit different though, forming concentric rings of ink with a few feet in between each circle. In one of the outermost rings sat Mito, and a few clan heads from the major founding clans. Within the innermost ring with him were Izuna and Tobirama their serious demeanor dampening the mood of the already dreary and tense atmosphere.

"Hashirama Senju please report your most recent memories. You will be informed of everything else afterward." The Nara clan head commanded from the outermost ring of the room.

With a small amount of hesitation Hashirama lays out everything he could remember to the room, including his shared visions provided by Madara. By the end of his story, the clan heads were quietly conversing among themselves in worried whispers about what he revealed about the visions. Eventually, the group of adults pardoned themselves from the laboratory stating that they needed to confirm some suspicions about the information he provided.

Alone with Mito, Izuna, and Tobirama, Hashirama starts to talk.

"So um are you guys gonna tell me how I'm alive right now or…"

"Technically this project has been declared a double S class secret until the village leadership can determine what they want to do with what we've accomplished. Suffice it to say that you are technically back from the dead and do not need to worry about the details." Izuna decreed in a stereotypical Uchiha way

"It's a seal myself and Mito created to bring back the dead from the pure world," Tobirama states not two seconds afterward. Receiving a glare from Izuna in the process.

"Now how about we continue with the rest of the tests? What do you guys think about experimental test 14 as a starter." Tobirama states suddenly

"Limb retention? Why would we start with-" Mito starts before a horrifying tearing sound interrupts her words. The sound originating from the center of the room.

Looking down at his now missing left arm Hashirama gapes at his brother who was now holding said severed limb. Still gaping Hashirama is then smacked in the face with his own arm.

"W-what THE HELL is wrong with you!" Hashirama manages to screech as he clutches at the hole where his limb used to be.

"What is wrong with me? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Tobirama roars in apoplectic fury.

"You go on that goddamn training trips for months without giving the village any reports about your safety and then you pull this shit! What the fuck were you thinking! You let a possessed Madara kill you and for what?! Some bullshit vision that you had no way of confirming?"

"But it was shared with ninshu, it couldn't have lied," Hashirama states with utter confidence

"What if this Zetsu thing made a clone with altered memories and possessed Madara." Tobirama States with clenched teeth

"Or it could have locked its memories away with seals to present a purposfully biased data set." Mito chimes in from the corner

"I believe that a sufficiently powerful genjutsu could perhaps permanently alter perceptions as well and Genjutsu cast on oneself is always easier," Izuna adds his own two cents

"Uh, well you see...I hadn't thought of that." Hashirama murmurs to himself while looking down at his feet in dejection.

Another smack to the head from Tobirama has Hashirama reeling from the sheer force, sending him sprawling to the floor in a heap. Looking up Hashirama sees Tobirama examining Hashirama's contorted and now extremely broken left arm.

With a sigh of frustration Tobirama throws the arm outside of the innermost circle they were staying in watching as the appendage began to unravel like thousands of papers loosely stuck together.

"That was my second favorite arm, Tobi, you can get that back right, Tobi...Tobi" Hashirama begins to panic as his brother merely stares dispassionately at his prone form.

With an exasperated sigh, Tobirama takes a step forward and begins picking up Hashirama showcasing the now reforming left arm.

"Oh, that's a thing now." Hashirama squeaks in horrified wonder as his severed limb reformed piece by piece.

"He seems stable even after dismemberment, I think we can take down the first containment barrier and go onto the next experiment," Mito says happily before meticulously undoing the innermost fuinjutsu ring of the laboratory room.

With a sinking feeling, Hashirama takes stock of his situation trying to come to terms with his new pseudo-life.

"Um, how many tests are there? Are they all going to be like test 14?" Hashirama asks nervously

"Oh, no test 14 is rather tame in comparison to the others. There will be 423 more until we can likely convince the village leadership to let you leave this bunker. It should only take a day to go through them all and then we can discuss what the village wants to do about this Zetsu thing." Izuna retorts impatiently

A few hours pass in which extensive testing is performed on Hashirama, testing which involved horrors the likes of which he had not imagined experiencing let alone surviving before. One particularly interesting experiment tested his ability to remain conscious even after his head was smashed completly away from his body.

"That has got to be the weirdest feeling of all time" Hashirama states as he observed the top half of his head reforming in a mirror, it was like shredding paper but in reverse.

"Also is my head empty?" Hashirama asks while trying to peek inside the hollow interior of his body.

"Your head has always been empty. But yes your form is essentially hollow, too complicated to get all the internal stuff to work correctly. Your outward appearance and such should be a perfect mimicry though. I based it on the principles Kurama said his form worked off of. Essentially you are just a living chakra construct." Tobirama states

Looking into his now black sclera a thought strikes Hashirama suddenly.

"I don't remember seeing this." He blurts out loud to the room

"What's wrong Hashi, is something else wrong with your eyes," Mito asks worriedly

"No, it's just...I don't remember seeing myself in Zetsus Visions. Which doesn't make sense if I'm alive again. Shouldn't I have been there to help stop everything thats going to happen?" Hashirama wondered

"Well, there are a few things that can be happening. The first and in my opinion most likely thing happening is that all of the visions were a complete fabrication to get at you and Madara. But since you still think that these visions were honest then it could be that you fall outside of the parameters of the visions now due to your new nature. We literally had to drag your soul from a different dimension, I wouldn't be surprised if that made you difficult to see. Especially if it worked like how you said that Toad sage visions worked with the world's natural energy as the divining source."

"Just a few more tests and we should be able to get you out of here and get a team ready to track down my brother and this Zetsu thing. We can get our answers then. Regardless I will be back in a little while, and don't break our pet zombie Tobi I paid a lot to get it working." Izuna states before exiting the lab with an acknowledging nod to Mito as he passed the last of the circles on the floor.

"I didn't want to ask about while he was here but what happened to his eye?" Hashirama asks his Brother

Instead of his brother answering Mito was the one to answer the question.

"The Impure World Reincarnation ritual requires a human sacrifice. It's needed to properly pierce into the pure world dimension where souls are kept. Izuna presented his own solution to our problem by offering himself as the sacrifice."

Hashirama gapes at the admission of using human sacrifices but then frowns in confusion.

"That still doesn't explain why he is alive now or why he is just missing an eye instead of being dead." Hashirama retorts

"The Sharingan has an ability that is nearly mythical even to the Uchiha called the Izanagi. Izuna used it to essentially cheat death at the cost of one of his eyes." Tobirama finishes

"...That's such bullshit! And Madara has the balls to keep telling me the mokuton is broken when he has that kind of bullshit under his hat!" Hashirama exclaims

Mito and Tobirama sweatdrop for a moment before returning to their experiments.

AN: Not quite story progression as usual but this is here mostly to try crossing the gap of knowledge between Worm and naruto fans. Somethings might still not make sense but I blame that On me not having a beta to bounce ideas off of. Anyway, I may have the story put on hiatus for a while to work on some other things, haven't yet decided so we shall see. Anyway, have a great weekend everybody who hasn't abandoned the story.


End file.
